


Hope

by Dustycelt



Series: Hope [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blood, Canon Divergence, Character Death, Curses, Demon Deals, Demons, Gen, Hellhounds, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, No Romance, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Season/Series 12, Spells & Enchantments, Torture, Witches, spellwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-10-24 04:04:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10733745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dustycelt/pseuds/Dustycelt
Summary: Wren was saved by the Winchester brothers two years ago. They took her in and she now hunts with them. However, Wren has a situation that she wants to keep from them. The boys are in a race to catch up to her after she sneaks out of the bunker. Will they be able to save her from herself or the brother that is out to get her?





	1. Saying Goodbye

Monday, September 12,2016  
Men of Letters bunker, Lebanon, Kansas

-Wren’s POV-

The bunker was finally quiet. Sam and Dean Winchester had left for a simple salt and burn in Oklahoma. They had left yesterday and weren’t expected to be back until tomorrow. Their mother, Mary Winchester, had gone to see Jody Mills in Sioux Falls for a little bit while the boys were gone. The angel, Castiel, was off somewhere taking care of “angel business” as he put it. This meant that Wren Krieger is in the bunker alone.

Wren had begged off from both trips stating that she needed to catch up on laundry and just wanted to relax for a couple of days, no monsters.She felt bad about lying. She had been waiting for this chance for a couple of weeks now. She couldn’t chance waiting any longer. It was now or possibly never. Wren looked inside her duffel bag one more time before zipping it closed. She didn’t like having to leave like this. She ran her eyes over her room for the fifth time in the past half hour. ‘Well, I guess I can’t put this off any longer, can I?’ she thought to herself. Grabbing the strap of her bag, she turned off the light in the room and closed the door.

She really did feel bad about doing it this way, but in her mind this was the best way. She felt guilty. She didn’t like sneaking out like this, but there was no way that they would let her go otherwise. Dean would yell at her for even thinking of going by herself. Sam would try to reason with her. Cas would advise her against going at all. In the end, everyone would insist on accompanying her. That was something that Wren couldn’t allow to happen. 

She knew she had to do this alone. It was going to be weird not riding down the road in the Impala. It would be weird without one of the Winchesters or Cas there with her. She would just have to learn to live with that weirdness. She went down the hall where the guys had their rooms. She looked into each of their rooms and a small sad smile came across her face. 

She took her phone out of her back pocket as she turned towards the library. She unlocked the phone and turned off the GPS. She closed her eyes and released a long slow breath. It didn’t help the anxiety. She then realized there would be no relief from it for some time to come. ‘This is going to be long trip,’ she said to herself. She shot off a quick text message and put the phone back in her pocket. 

She entered the library and walked over to the far table. She put her bag on the table and ran her hand over the wood. Figuring this would be the best place to put it, she opened the side pocket of the bag and removed an envelope. She placed the envelope beside one of the desk lamps. She raised her hand and looked at the ring on her finger. The only piece of jewelry she wore anymore really. She could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. After wiping her eyes quickly, she removed the ring and placed it in the envelope that held the letter she had written for the boys inside. She placed the small envelope on the table in the library with a deep sigh. 

She closed her eyes and sent a quick prayer to Chuck. ‘I don’t know where you are right now but I’m pretty sure you can still hear me. At least, I really, really wish you can. Please, just keep them safe. I know I’m not doing this properly. I know I should stay and talk to them. But I just can’t.’ She laughed at herself then. ‘You know why I am doing so why I am trying to rationalize it with you? Chuck, I just want everyone to come out of this in one piece. Most of all, I don’t want them to hate me. Please. I don’t think I can handle that.’ She hoped that Chuck heard that prayer more than any other prayer she had ever said to him. She picked the duffle bag up off the table and walked to the garage. 

She walked into the garage quickly and made her way down the row of cars until she reached her target. Blame it on her rebellious streak that had caused her much trouble in her younger days but she smirked at the car sitting in front of her. It was practically begging to go out for a ride. She slid into the car that she was “borrowing” and tossed the bag into the passenger seat. She took a calming breath and turned the key. The engine roared to life as if telling her that it had been too long and was ready to go on a journey. She looked back at the door leading into the bunker. She shook her head to clear it. ‘Come on,Wren. Pull yourself together.’ 

She put the vehicle into gear and slowly drove out of the bunker. The tires pulled the car onto the road and she turned the car to head east. She kept glancing back in the rearview mirror until she could no longer see the “abandoned factory” that stood on top of the bunker. When it was no longer visible, a single tear finally escaped and slid down her cheek. There was no turning back now, not that she would. She sniffed and wiped the stray tear off her cheek. ‘Come on, you’re not a little girl. You are a strong capable woman. An adult. You can do this. You HAVE to do this.’

She knew she was going to have to give herself a lot of pep talks in the near future. There weren’t going to be any pep talks from Sam in the front seat. Dean wasn’t going to be there to shove her in the shoulder and nod his head silently signaling his confidence in her. Mary wouldn’t walk up beside Wren and hand her a weapon. Cas wouldn’t be there to physically insert himself between the threat, whatever it might be, and Wren trying to protect her. She knew she had to stop herself from thinking about them or she really would turn the car around. Letting out a large sigh, she reached over and turned on the car’s radio. She turned the dial until she found a good station and let the music to soothe her nerves. With the windows down and music blaring, Wren drove away from a place that she would always consider home and into an oncoming storm that she had no idea would prove to be truly ominous.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean return from their milk run in Oklahoma to an empty bunker and discover that Wren is missing.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016  
The Bunker, Lebanon, Kansas

Dean Winchester drove the black ‘67 Chevy Impala into the bunker’s garage and pulled to a stop. After putting Baby into park and cutting the engine, the Winchester brothers exited the vehicle. They both were glad to be home. It had been a simple case, but it was still good to be home. They grabbed their bags out of the trunk and headed inside the bunker. Dean came crashing back into the bunker first and yelled down the hall, “Lucy, I'm home!”

Sam strolled in behind him, “Are you really going to say that every time?” He slung his bag over his shoulder as he closed the door to the garage behind him.

Dean looked over his shoulder at his younger brother and said,”Dude, I'm hilarious and you know it.”

Sam shrugged and struggled not to roll his eyes, “Whatever. Where's Wren?”

“I just walked in, same as you.” Dean replied with an annoyed look on his face. "I don't know.” The elder brother continued down the hall towards his room intending to deposit his bag on the end of his bed.

Dean stopped walking in the hall and cocked his head to side. Suddenly he turned around to face Sam. “Does it seem abnormally quiet to you? She’s always blasting that music whenever we're out.” Wren couldn’t stand the silence in the bunker. She had once said it seemed to almost echo down here. That’s why she always had something going in the background, just enough to chase away the quiet.

Sam smiled, “Only because you bitch when she plays Nirvana.” Dean opened his mouth to respond. Sam raised his hand to stop Dean before he can get started on that particular subject again which more often than not turned into a tirade. Sam was not in the mood to hear Dean go down that road again for the umpteenth time. “But you're right, I don't hear a thing. I'm going to check her room. She’s probably just taking a nap.”

“I’ll check the kitchen. She might in the fridge with the beer.” Dean smirked and turned toward the kitchen. Sam shook his head and headed toward Wren’s room down another hall.

-Sam’s POV-

Sam knocked on her door and heard nothing. He waited a few seconds. He knocked again. He cracked the door enough to stick his head through in case she's taking a nap. The room was dark so Sam walked in leaving the door open to let in a little light and approached the bed. He realized the bed was empty and turned around to leave the room. After closing the door he headed to his own room to drop off his bag.

Dean raised his head when Sam entered the kitchen with a questioning look on his face.

“Not in her room.” Sam commented as he walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

“Oh, maybe she just ran into town.” Dean shrugged his shoulders and took another swig of his beer.

Sam placed his water on the counter. “I don't know. She seemed pretty adamant about not having to leave the bunker while we were gone. She even made sure to do a supply run before we left.”

Dean's hand stopped with his beer halfway to his mouth. He shifted his eyes over to Sam and raised both of his eyebrows. The brothers looked at each other for a beat, having one of their infamous wordless conversations. They exited the kitchen and split up to search the bunker for her. Sam turned to the left and Dean to the right.

Neither one wanted to say it out loud but they were growing concerned. This was highly unusual behavior for Wren. The bunker was quiet. They didn’t need any supplies. After checking the obvious places- the gun range, the gym, the storage room Wren was currently trying to dig through for Sam's cataloging system. They had came up empty.

Half an hour later, they met up in one of the hallways. Dean walked up beside Sam and asked, “Did you find anything?”

Sam ran his hand through his hair and said, “Nothing. I even tried the bathroom. I can't find a trace of her anywhere.”

Dean turned around in a circle and gruffly asked, “Where the hell could she be?”

Sam looked up at Dean suddenly, “Hey, did you-”

Dean turned his head and looked at him, “No, did you?”

Sam let out a breath and laughed a little at himself. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of this in the first place.” He pulled out his phone and began dialing Wren’s number. He put the phone to his ear. Dean looked at him expectantly while listening for the ringing phone somewhere inside the bunker. Dean’s face dropped when Sam left her a voicemail.

“Wren, we just got back and didn't find you at home. Give one of us a call and let us know where you are, okay?” Sam disconnected the call. He glanced up at Dean and said, “I want to track her phone. I don't have a good feeling about this.”

The boys headed towards Sam’s room so Sam could use his laptop to track the phone. On the way, Dean suddenly smacked Sam in the arm. “She might have headed up to Jody’s place after all.”

Sam looked over at Dean, “First, was it necessary to hit me? Second, then call Mom or Jody to check. I’m pulling up her phone anyway.”

Sam retrieved his laptop from his bag on his bed. As he was waiting for the program to open, Dean was across the room on the phone with Jody. “So you haven’t seen or heard from her at all?”

Dean nodded his head while listening to Jody on the other end, “Mom said the same? Alright, let us know if you do hear something. Yeah, yeah, we’ll do the same. Thanks Jody.”

Dean ended the call and looked over at Sam, “I really do not have a good feeling about this.”

Sam looked up from his screen at Dean thinking the same thing. He turned the computer around so Dean can see the screen. “Me too. I can’t track her phone. She must have the GPS turned off.”

Dean tried dialing Wren’s phone, “Why the hell would she turn off the GPS? She knows better.”

Dean hung up the phone when Wren’s voicemail began & crammed the phone back into the pocket of his jeans. He looked over at Sam, “What did you see in her room when you went to check on her earlier?”

Sam walked out of his room and headed to the hall where Wren’s room was located. Talking over his shoulder, “I just walked in far enough to tell if she was napping but she wasn’t on the bed. I didn’t even turn the light on.”

“Well, that’s great, Sammy. Just great.” Dean snapped at him and pushed past Sam.

Dean barged into the room that Wren had been using since she first started staying with the Winchesters. It was in a different hallway than the rooms occupied by Sam and Dean since she had wanted some semblance of privacy when she first arrived two years ago. They looked around the room and didn’t notice anything out of place right away. Sure, the bed was made but that didn’t really mean anything significant. Wren was known to do that from time to time. She didn’t keep very many personal items on the shelves or dresser in her room.

However, Sam did notice that the laundry hamper in the corner was still full. “Uh, Dean? Didn’t she stay back to get caught up on her laundry?”

Dean turned to the corner and eyed the hamper. “Son of a bitch.” He swallowed thickly. He dropped to his knees and looked under Wren’s bed. “SON OF A BITCH!” He smacked his hand against the mattress and rose from the floor.

Sam immediately knew what Dean’s outburst meant and hung his head. Wren’s duffle bag was gone. “Oh, Wren. What have you done now?” Sam asked the room with obvious pain in his voice.

Dean turned to his brother visibly angry, “Oh, I’ll tell you what she’s done now. Something stupid. Something incredibly stupid.” He looked around the room again as if he’s going to find a major clue as to Wren’s whereabouts that had been previously overlooked. He walked over to her nightstand and began rummaging through the drawer again. “She doesn’t tell us she’s leaving. She turned the GPS off on her phone!” He couldn’t keep the hurt or anger out of his voice.

Unsurprisingly, he finds nothing helpful in the drawer. “I need another beer.” Dean slammed it shut and stomped from the room heading towards the kitchen. “Or something stronger.”

Sam stayed in the room and just looked around. After a few minutes and not being able to come with any good scenarios that would ease his peace of mind, Sam suddenly straightened. “How did she leave?”

Sam jogs down the hall to the kitchen to confer with his brother.

“Dean, how could have Wren left? She doesn’t have her own car anymore. She sold it six months after moving in with us. She said it was stupid to just let it sit in the garage and collect dust. She must have taken one of the cars from the garage.”

Dean looked up from the beer bottle that he had spent the past five minutes staring into as if it contained answers to all of the questions running through his head right now. “Okay, fine. Let’s just say that’s what she did.” Dean placed the bottle on the table and folded his arms across his chest leaning back in his chair, “How does that help exactly? Are we making a list of things that she’s done in the past couple of days that piss me off? If so, then hell, we might need a entire notepad before we’re through at this rate.”

Dean’s mood was definitely not going to get better anytime soon if they didn’t find Wren quickly. They both had to come to care for her a great deal. She was like a little sister to them. She fit right in with them. The stubborn streak. Willing to take down whatever monster they were facing just so it wouldn’t be able to hurt any more innocent people. Once she had become acclimated to the world of things that go bump in the night being real, she had become downright determined that she was going to save every person that she could. Sam was sure that it was caused Wren to go off on her own like this.They just had to find her. Fast.

Sam sighed and spoke in a calm voice to his older brother. “No, Dean, it means that if she took one of the cars from the garage, we can try tracking the car down.” He turned from the kitchen and proceeded to the garage. He knew in the back of his mind that it was long shot but it would be a place to start. It was something and that’s all he needed right now. Something that he could use to occupy his mind. Sam prayed that Wren hadn’t decided to take a bus to wherever in the world she had disappeared.

Sam entered the garage and turned the lights back on. Walking past the Impala, he began to inspect the row of cars against the wall. He nervously reached the end of the row. He turned and faced stall B6. He chuckled despite being worried out of his mind for Wren. Yup, she was living up to the title of little sister. The empty stall that Sam was now facing confirmed it. He went to get the records for the garage to get the information for the car Wren had taken. Sam shook his head while looking at this list and couldn’t help think about how extraordinarily pissed Dean was going to be when he found out which car she took.

\- Dean’s POV-

Dean exited the kitchen after he noticed Sam walk past the doorway with a ledger in his hand. Sam seemed to be walking with mission and that meant Sam had found something. The prospect of his brother finding something made Dean feel better. Dean had started to feel almost desperate and ready to grasp at ANY straw if it meant finding Wren as quickly as soon as possible. Wren was family and Dean couldn’t stomach the thought of losing another member of his family. He had lost too many already.

He caught up to Sam in the library. Sam was already sitting at one of the tables with the ledger from the garage open and typing on his laptop. “What did you find, Sammy?” , he asked looking at Sam expectantly. He didn’t want to take a seat. He wanted to grab his keys and start driving already. But he didn’t, he knew that he didn’t even have any idea of which direction to turn the Impala. Honestly, that was the only thing stopping him.

“I figured out which car Wren used,” Sam said with a slightly mischievous grin. Dean just quirked an eyebrow at his brother. Sam continued to look at Dean and waited for him to catch on. This caused Dean to take pause. Why would Sam look at him like that? He slightly lowered his head while he closed his eyes. He hated it when Sam did this and he knew that Sam was leaving him to figure it out on his own. That meant something. Suddenly it hit him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam figures which vehicle Wren took when she left and shares the information with Dean. Dean discovers the letter that Wren had left behind.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016  
The Bunker, Lebanon, Kansas

-Dean’s POV-

Dean snapped his head up with a scowl on his face, “No, no, no, no, no.” He turned to Sam. “She. Did. Not.”

Sam tilted his head slightly to the right and simply lifted his eyebrows. Dean continued to look across the table silently praying that Sam was pulling his leg. There was no way that Wren would touch that car. Not that car. He couldn’t believe it. Wait. Oh yes, he could. Wren had her eyes on that convertible for months. She had begged on more than one occasion to take it out even just for a spin a mile down the road and back. Dean had kept trying to put her off the idea. He didn’t trust that car. If something happened while in that sardine can, Wren or anyone else for that matter would be crumpled beyond recognition. They didn’t disagree often except for that car. That damned car. It was a long standing battle between the two of them.

While Dean was processing what Wren had done in the garage, Sam returned his focus back to his laptop. Dean was quickly approaching livid. He also felt the worry for Wren increase. He hated this. 

This was beyond needing a drink. He didn’t want to be numb. He wanted to make something hurt. He needed to punch something or someone. The only person around was Sam and he wasn’t going to hit him. His only other option right now was the punching bag down in the gym. He turned and was going to directly to the gym so he could at least relieve some of the tension. That’s when the white envelope propped against one of the table lamps in the corner of his vision seemingly called out to him. 

He walked over the far table and just looked down at the stark white envelope. It was addressed to “The Winchesters”. He knew that handwriting. There was no mistaking it. He had seen it dozens of times on grocery lists, notes for cases and post-its stuck to seemingly random places in her room. Little notes to herself so she wouldn’t forget something that suddenly popped in her head. Wren. Dean’s heart dropped into stomach. 

The sequence of events started to play through his mind. She purposely stayed back from a case. She made sure that she was alone. She had left them. She had finally had enough of either the Winchester men or the hunter’s life. Possibly both. His mind reeled at the thought. It was one of his deepest fears. Losing someone else he had considered a family member. He hated watching his family grow smaller and smaller over the years. Now it had happened again.. 

Dean slowly reached forward as if the envelope would be burn or sting him the moment he touched it. He knew it wouldn’t physically harm him. He was afraid of the emotional pain that this letter was sure to cause him. He picked it up and just stared at it. He couldn’t bring himself to even open it. Just the thought of rejection from her was too much. 

“Sam.”

-Sam’s POV-

Sam’s thoughts were flying around inside his head. He was trying to reach out to other hunters to find out if they had seen or talked to Wren in the past couple of days. Maybe someone had called for backup on a case. That was Sam’s best scenario and he wasn’t going to let go of it unless something presented itself to indicate otherwise. Wren would have thought nothing of going to help another hunter that she trusted. Not that she trusted many but there were a few that had her number. He had contacted the hunters that fell into that category. Most of them had gotten back to Sam already but so far none of them had good news. They did promise to let Sam know if they saw or heard anything. 

He picked up phone up intending to call Jody about tracking the car. As he unlocked the phone he heard Dean call his name. “Yeah?” He looked up from his phone towards his brother across the room. He noticed that his head was bowed and shoulders were slumped. Dean looked defeated. This surprised Sam. It wasn’t often that anyone saw this side of Dean. Not even Sam. That’s when the cloud of doom descended.

Sam put his phone down on the table and sat up straighter in his chair, “Dean, what’s going on?” That’s when the eldest Winchester turned and held out an envelope. Sam looked back and forth between the object in Dean’s hand and the devastated look on his brother’s face. Sam swallowed thickly and approached Dean across the room.

Dean pushed the envelope towards his brother as he approached. “Here, I can’t open it, man. I just can’t.” Sam took it and slowly turned it over. Sam didn’t want to read it either. He didn’t know it but he was thinking the same things that Dean had upon finding the letter. He recognized the handwriting as well and immediately the feeling of rejection washed over him. No, this was worse because it was Wren. And that killed him. 

With a quick glance up at Dean, Sam opened the flap and pulled out the letter. As the paper pulled free, something fell to the floor. A bounce and a slight ting sound, it rolled on the floor towards one of Dean’s boots. Dean slowly crouched down and carefully picked it up. Sam watched as Dean stood again and opened his right palm for Sam to see. 

“No,” Sam breathed out. He couldn’t believe it. There was one object on this planet that Wren was fiercely protective of and wouldn’t let out of her sight ever. Yet, there it was. Wren’s ring. That circle of silver was Wren’s most precious possession in the world and yet Dean now held it in his palm. 

The brothers locked eyes. What did this mean? Why would she take off but leave this behind? There was only one way to find out apparently. Sam took a deep breath and opened the piece of paper that had been folded up with the ring. He began to read aloud:

Dearest Winchesters, 

I’m sure that I have made you worry and I’m sorry about that. Something came up in  
New Hampshire that I need to handle. 

“New Hampshire?!?” Dean yelled interrupting Sam and began pacing around the room, “Seriously?!? A case? She went on a case? Why would-”

Sam returned the favor to Dean by interrupting him. “Dean, would like me to finish the letter or not? I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason as to why she did this. It’s not like her to just run off on her own like this. She’s too smart for that. We trained her better than that.”

Dean held up his hands in surrender. Sam raised an eyebrow at his older brother and continued…

I'll text one of you when I get there. I promise. Don't worry about me. Yes, I know  
that was futile to write but I did it anyway. 

I’ll handle this one on my own. You guys have given me the confidence to handle this.  
I will never be able to tell you enough how much that means to me. I literally owe you guys  
my life. You could have left me behind after saving me, but you didn't. 

I was able to find myself again with your help. It was a rocky road. For all of us.  
On top of everything else, you gave me hope again. And a family. A real one. It doesn't  
meet the definition of a normal family, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Dean slammed his hand on the table and filled the room with his booming voice, “What the hell, Sam? Family? If we’re such a good ‘family,’ then what is this bull?” Sam started to wonder if reading this letter out loud to Dean was such a good idea anymore. However, when he looked down and saw the next line, he knew that he had to keep going.

Dean, please stop yelling and listen.

Dean jumped out of the chair he had just sat in moments earlier, “Don’t tell me to stop yelling, Sammy! She could get herself hurt. Or worse.” He started pacing around the library again. It showed that he was trying to get a handle on the anger inside of him right now. All because of Wren. Neither of them wanted to think about all of the gruesome things that they knew could happen to her out there. 

Sam looked at Dean across the room, “I didn’t say that.” Dean whirled around to look at his brother. Sam pointed to the letter and grinned slightly. “Wren did.”

Dean narrowed his eyes and approached Sam. He glanced down at the letter in Sam’s hand. “Son of a bitch. She really did write that down.” This seemed to take some wind out of Dean’s sails as he dropped into the chair across the table from Sam. He then wearily gestured for Sam to continue reading. Satisfied that Wren in her own way knew how to calm Dean down even just a little, Sam began the last of the letter. Sam cleared his throat.

Just to prove that I am planning to return once this is over, I'm leaving Lark’s ring  
with you. You know what it means to me and that I wouldn’t leave it behind lightly.  
I expect you to take care of it too. I mean it. Talk to you soon.

With love,  
Wren

Sam lowered the letter to the table. While he was relieved that she hadn’t left them, it still stung that she left without at least talking to them. He decided to push those questions to the side. They could wait until later. He needed to focus on finding her. That was the best use of his energy right now. He picked his phone up again and resumed placing a call to Jody.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary returns to the bunker to help in the search for Wren. They reach out to Castiel for help.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016  
The Bunker, Lebanon, Kansas

-Dean’s POV-

Dean found himself very conflicted. He was sitting quietly and spinning the ring on the tabletop. On one hand, he was happy that Wren hadn’t really abandoned them. However, on the other, he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t wait until they had come back from Oklahoma. Or called his mom for help at least. 

Wren had quickly embraced his mother as a friend upon her return. She had done everything in her power to help the Winchester clan come together again as a family. It had broken Wren’s heart too when Mary left to be on her own. She had felt the sting of rejection that the boys had felt, but just not as deeply. Wren hadn’t told the boys directly of course, but Sam had overheard Wren discussing the matter with Cas. She had told Cas that she didn’t feel it was okay to bring up her hurt when it obviously had affected the boys infinitely more as it should. Sam of course, shared that information with Dean. 

Dean had realized then she had again put their feelings before her own. When he had approached Cas about the conversation that Wren had with him, Cas had been very reluctant to discuss it with Dean. Once Dean had finally convinced Cas that he wanted to know because he was worried about her wellbeing, the angel had relented.

Dean stopped spinning the ring and held it up between his fingers. He turned it so he could read the single word imprinted on the simple silver band and just stared. Four letters, that was all. HOPE.

He gently placed it back on the table. He decided in that moment that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that ring went back where it belongs as soon as possible. He cleared his throat and looked up at Sam, “What do you got, Sammy?” 

Sam looked up at Dean, “I’ve filled Jody in. She said she would let us know if anything comes up.” He sighed. “Mom said that she’s on her way back down.” Dean just nodded his head and dropped his eyes back to the table.

Then the silence returned to the bunker. Neither brother had truly realized what Wren was talking about when she complained about the silence until now. Now, without Wren there to help fill the silence, it did indeed seem to echo. Dean rose from his chair and walked over to the radio turning it on. “It’s too quiet in here,” he muttered and walked to the kitchen.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016  
The Bunker, Lebanon, Kansas

-Mary’s POV-

Several hours later, Mary Winchester entered the bunker through the front door and shouted out, “Boys! I’m here!” she descended the stairs. Sam entered the war room from one of the hallways and approached his mother. With a quick hug, Mary and Sam began to walk to Mary’s room so she could deposit her bags in her room. 

“So, have you heard from her yet?” Mary asked and looked over at her youngest son. Sam just shook his head no with a grimace on his face. Mary frowned at that. She rubbed his arm to console him. “She’ll call. I know she will. How is your brother taking it?” She dropped her bag on the bed in her room.

“His brother is not very happy right now to be honest.” Sam and Mary turned towards Dean standing in the doorway. Mary turned and gave Dean a hug. She noticed his stiffness during the hug. It hurt a little but she also knew that he was very worried about his friend. “So Mom, how was the drive?”

“Not too bad, uneventful and kinda boring really,” Mary replied. She sat on the edge of the bed. Might as well talk about the elephant in the room. “So did you boys figure out what’s in New Hampshire that has Wren running out there like this?”

Sam spoke up and answered his mother’s question, “Nope. We couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary that looked like it could be a case out that way. I put some calls out to some other hunters that she trusted and they haven’t heard anything either.”

Mary nodded as if she expected that answer, “Is Cas still in Tennessee?” She was looking back and forth between her sons. She had time to think on the drive from South Dakota. She knew they needed to at least establish contact with Wren so they could know for sure that she hadn’t been harmed or coerced into leaving. In Mary’s mind, plans could be made after that. She just hoped that the angel would be able to get in touch with Wren.

Dean scoffed, “I think so, but do you really think that if she won’t answer the phone for us, she’ll answer for him?”

Mary looked up at him with sympathy in her eyes, “Honestly, I think she might.” She put up her hands. “Now, hear me out. She knows that Cas won’t yell, harass or make her guilty about doing this. Not on purpose anyway. Cas can get through to her, I’m sure of it. Dean, you would do all three of the above if you got her on the phone without even trying.”

With frustration written all over his face, Dean spat back, “You’re damn right I would. That girl is acting crazy right now. She knew what she was doing was going to get us riled up. She even said so in that stupid letter she left.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall.

Mary made sure to maintain the calm tone in her voice, “That’s my whole point. Has Wren ever responded to that behavior before?” She felt that she had to calm Dean down. Nothing good would come out of infighting. 

Dean blinked quickly, “Well, no. But-”

Sam interjected, “Dean, Mom’s right. If any of us talk to her, she’ll feel guilty as hell. I can guarantee she feels like she’s betraying us all just by sneaking off. That’s why she’s not answering any of our calls or texts. Cas won’t do that. He would make a point of finding out if she’s okay without bringing us into it. Especially if we tell him not to.” 

“Sammy, you too?” Dean rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the wall, “Fine. Call Cas.” He then stormed out of the room. Mary and Sam just looked at each other. 

Sam got up to follow Dean, “I’ll go talk to him. You call Cas.” Mary nodded in agreement. Mary pulled out her phone and hoped that Cas would be willing to help out. She could only think of one reason why he would object. Not because he didn’t care, but because he wouldn’t want to betray Wren. Mary would have to make sure that he knew that it is not what they wanted.

It seemed that over time Cas had become more protective of Wren than he had the Winchesters. Mary had noticed the level of protection for Wren almost immediately. On the flip side, Wren cared just as deeply for the other unofficial member of the Winchester clan. It seemed that Wren enjoyed coming up with new experiences for the angel. Mary had gotten a kick out of watching the angel try simple things that Wren had pulled from her childhood.

Castiel answered his phone on the third ring, “Hello, Mary.” Mary proceeded to fill him on the situation. Cas was surprisingly quiet while Mary had explained what she knew. “I will try to contact Wren and ascertain her current situation. However, if she doesn’t wish for me to tell you where she is, I will respect her wishes. So long that I don’t feel that she is in any imminent danger, that is.”

Mary sighed with relief and even smiled a little, “I didn’t expect any less, Castiel. We want to know that she is okay more than anything else. So, please, let us know right after he talk with her. Even if it’s only to tell us she’s safe. I’m back at the bunker with the boys so you can call any of us. Thank you, Castiel. Really.”

“You are most welcome, Mary,” and Cas disconnected the call. 

Mary felt a little better now. She prayed that Wren would talk to Castiel. Mary sent a text over to Sam to update him about Cas. She didn’t want to disrupt the boys right now so she started getting the dirty clothes out of her bag. She figured she might as well get some laundry done while waiting to hear back from Castiel.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wren and Castiel talk. Some of Wren's backstory is revealed.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016  
Hwy 303, outside Hudson, Ohio

-Wren’s POV-

The windows were down as Wren sped down the highway. Wren’s hair was being blown out of her bun but she didn’t care. Her thoughts were divided between where she was coming from and where she was headed. One second, she was worrying about the Winchesters coming home and finding her gone. The next, she was anxious about seeing her brother again.

It was difficult to say which was causing the most stress. She loved the Winchesters. They might be her second family but with the Winchesters, she didn’t doubt that they loved each other as a family should. Or at least they did until now. She couldn’t help to worry about the reception she would receive when she returned. She couldn’t get around it either. She had made sure she would have to return one way or the other. 

However, with the Kriegers, she couldn’t say the same. The house she was raised in was very cold and sterile and we’re not talking about the temperature of the house. The only person she could ever count on during her childhood was her twin sister, Lark. They relied on each other for pretty much everything. Sure, their parents had provided food, shelter and a quality education. Their social circle demanded it. Any sort of affection shown seemed staged as if it was expected and as soon as her parents felt their obligation had met it was turned off like a faucet. Just like that. 

The esteemed Dr. and Mrs. Krieger couldn’t be bothered by such trivial things as skinned knees or being picked on by the other girls in class. Oh no, Dr. Martin Krieger had wealthy patients that needed his attention. Mrs. Regina Krieger had dinner parties to plan and afternoon teas with her book club. Even their older brother, Robin, didn’t seem to acknowledge them very often. The children were to be pulled out at their parents’ parties so they could point out how accomplished their children were. Lark’s horse jumping ribbons would be prominently displayed for all of their parents’ wealthy friends to see. Robin’s football trophies were also displayed out in the open. However, Wren was a disappointment to them in this respect.

She had no interest in the conventional “proper activities” that her mother tried to push on her. Ballet was a bust. Wren had a fear of horses (or so she had claimed) so there was no horse jumping with Lark. Tennis, now that was a joke. No, Wren’s natural talent seemed to be drawing. Or as her mother called it, ‘mindless doodling.’ Her parents saw it as pointless since ‘no respectable person ever made real money that way’. It had caused a great deal of conflict with her parents. Lark would remind her over and over that she had a wonderful talent and not to listen to them. So Wren had to resort to drawing in private. She had made sure to keep her sketchbook on her practically 24/7. Any books that had been filled were kept in a locked chest at the foot of her bed under a mound of folded blankets.

When it was time to finally leave for college, Wren couldn’t have been happier. She and Lark were attending the same university, even rooming together. It had taken some persuading on their parents’ part for that to happen. Of course, they had their own motives. They didn’t want their daughters assigned to room with some random student especially if that random student had no political or social connections that the elder Kriegers could use to their advantage. Or even worse, one of the girls became associated with some unsavory gossip simply because of said roommate. Lark had been the one that suggested she and Wren should stay together to avoid such an unfavorable situation. 

Lark always had a knack for navigating their parents’ social scene. It was done with elegance and grace that Wren just did not possess nor did she care to cultivate. Lark knew just how to say things to their mother to get what she wanted but she never did it maliciously. Most of the time, it was for Wren’s sake. Lark also knew when to pick her battles with their parents. Wren lacked that ability also. There were many instances of Wren being brought into her father’s den so they could “discuss” her latest embarrassment to the family name. Those discussions consisted of Wren sitting in one of the leather wing back chairs while her father berated her and threatened private school somewhere far away. 

But the worst is when the entire family was present for these sessions, particularly if Robin was home visiting. He would stand against one of the doctor’s built in bookcases, swirling his drink in a crystal tumbler and smirking smugly at Wren. Robin seemed to grow colder as they grew up. Blame it on the age difference. Blame it on their parents (which was the most likely reason). Whatever the reason, Robin had grown into a right bastard. A trait that he demonstrated quite frequently when he was at home. 

The absolute worst was after the car accident. He hadn’t come to the hospital to visit her. In reality, he had only come home for the funeral because their father had demanded it. He resented being called home and took out his frustration and anger on Wren. He would corner her when she was alone. This would usually happen in either her or Lark’s bedroom. He would tell over and over how it was her fault. He had a evil glint in his eyes. There was no doubt he enjoyed causing her pain. 

Wren snapped herself out of her thoughts then. It had been five years but it still stung as if it had happened yesterday. It probably always would. She had lost her twin. Her one true ally in everything. Her confidante. Wren had no one to blame but herself. The accident would have never happened if it wasn’t for her. Her parents made sure she aware of that fact too. It was all her fault. Lark would have never been driving down that road if it wasn’t for her. She could feel the tears building in her eyes. She decided to pull over for a bit of break. Just to get out of the car and stretch her legs and clear her head. There was a convenience store up ahead. She pulled into a parking space and cut the engine. 

Fisherville, Tennessee

-Cas’s POV-

Castiel hung up on Mary and put the phone on the table. His eyes looked around the diner and saw the small number of patrons enjoying the midmorning. He turned to look at the cup of coffee that the waitress had brought him earlier. He hadn’t touched it. He didn’t remember asking for it either. He pushed the cup off to the side. There was no appeal in drinking it for him.

When Mary had mentioned that Wren was headed to New Hampshire, Castiel had a fairly good idea of why. He knew of her history there. He was disappointed that Wren had still not shared with the Winchesters her complete past but she had insisted that it was her decision to make. She made him promise not to tell any of the Winchesters. He had very reluctantly agreed. In the end, it was her decision to make but Castiel feared that the longer she waited the worse the outcome. He just couldn’t come up with a reason as to why she would suddenly drop everything and go running back to her childhood home. She had stated more than once to Cas that she has no desire to return there ever. 

Castiel picked up the phone and walked outside to the parking lot. He hit the button that was programmed to Wren’s phone number. It rang four times before she picked up. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite angel of the Lord.” Wren said cheerfully.

“Hello, Wren. I am glad to hear I am still your favorite angel. I would become upset if I had been replaced.” Cas replied to her. He opened the door to his truck and sat in the driver seat. 

He heard Wren laugh a little on the other end of the line, “Castiel, let me reassure you, that will never happen.”

“Thank you, that is good to hear.” Cas cleared his throat. “I am afraid that I have a reason for calling you other than you giving me compliments.”

Wren sighed through the phone, “I kinda figured. You’re a good friend but you usually don’t call me without a really good reason. So, which one of the boys called you?”

Cas shook his head at her. He admired her directness sometimes. “Actually, it was Mary Winchester. It seems that Sam called her and asked if you were with her.” Wren had fallen silent. He could her breathing slow and deep. “Wren?”

“They called Mary?” Wren replied quietly. Her voice had dropped significantly in volume and even sounded a little raspy. “I didn’t anticipate that, Cas. Please tell me she didn’t go back to the bunker.”

“I could say that, but it would be a lie, Wren. I don’t want to tell you a lie. It would serve no purpose right now.” Cas replied bluntly.

Wren chucked a little. “It would serve no purpose right now? Does that mean- No, we are putting a pin in that little nugget for later. And we WILL be discussing it later, Castiel.” Cas swallowed. He didn’t think that discussion would bode well for him later. He hoped she would forget about the small slip but he doubted it. “Cas? Is Mary upset with me? I know she was looking forward to the trip to Jody’s.”

Cas could hear the hurt in her voice. “She is upset, yes. She is not upset about cutting her trip short. She is upset that you left the safety of the bunker without any back up.”

Wren sighed rather heavily, “That’s what I was afraid of happening. I don’t want her to hate me, Cas. I don’t want any of you to hate me. I even prayed to your father about it.” That made his eyes go wide with surprise. Wren didn’t pray anymore. Not even after meeting God in person. He realized she must have been feeling desperate.

“Wren, she does not hate you.” He told her gently. “She is concerned. I was told that all of the Winchesters are concerned about you. I am as well. Will you tell me why you are going back there? You have told me previously that you never wished to return there.” 

Wren groaned into her phone, “ Let me guess, you’re supposed to talk me into turning around and going back to the bunker. Well, I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it, Cas. I need to go back to Nashua. Robin is expecting me. You are not going to talk me out of this trip. I need to go back to Nashua, Cas.” Her voice has gotten more desperate sounding the more she talked.

Castiel was worried. It was growing the more he talked to her. Wren had stated to him repeatedly that she would never go back. She had said that the memories were too painful. Yet suddenly she was in an immense hurry to get there. “Wren, I -”

She cut him off, sounding agitated, “I’m really sorry, Cas. I have to get back on the road.” She let out a heavy sigh and spoke with a lowered voice. “This is why, angel. This is why I didn’t tell anyone I was going on this trip. Everyone can stop worrying, really. I’m going to contact them when I get to Nashua. I promised and I meant it. I’ll let you know, too. Take care, Castiel.” She abruptly ended the call.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel is concerned after his conversation with Wren and contacts the Winchester brothers.

-Wednesday, September 14, 2016-  
-Fisherville, Tennessee-

-Cas’s POV-

The angel pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it with wide eyes. He was in a state of disbelief. He may not always understand human emotions correctly but he knew that Wren was not normally like this. He laid his head back against the seat. He didn’t remember her ever speaking to him like that. It was troubling. He pursed his lips and tried to decide who exactly he should call. Yes, Mary had been the one that asked him to contact Wren. However, he felt he should talk to someone who has known Wren longer. Hopefully, they would tell him that he was just being overprotective again. However, it seemed that he was going to have to break Wren’s trust after all. His mind made up, he lifted the phone up and dialed.

-The Bunker, Lawrence, Kansas-  
-Dean’s POV-

Dean was definitely nursing the bottle in front of him. He had talked things out with Sam and he hadn’t thrown anything around the room. That was progress. He turned the empty glass on the desk and debated whether or not the glass should stay empty. He was leaning towards no, it shouldn’t. He just wasn’t sure he should be sitting in her room at her desk either. This may not have been the smartest idea. He had the same questions rolling around in his head with no answers in sight. It was starting to drive him crazy. He wouldn’t get answers until they talked to Wren and who knows when that would happen. Or if that would happen. Dean didn’t like all of the variables. Too much could go wrong. 

He stuck his hand in the pocket of the flannel shirt he was wearing and took out the ring. He stared at the engraved word. He knew she said she was going to come back. She knew how he and his brother would feel when they found her gone. It’s why she had left it. So, no, he didn’t feel abandoned. No, this was something else. And he really didn’t like this feeling either. ‘Screw it.’ Dean no longer cared to wait until she reached her destination and she decided to call in. He needed to talk to her now. He was going to keep calling until he got through. He would call and leave a voicemail every fifteen minutes if that’s what it took. He didn’t want to be twisting in the wind anymore. He used his other hand to dig his phone out of his jeans. He was just about to dial Wren’s phone when the phone started to ring in his hand. “Cas? What’s going on?”

“Hello, Dean. Your mother had asked me to call Wren to check up on her.” Cas answered flatly.

Dean rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I’m aware. Did you talk to her?” While this is the person he wanted to talk to on the phone the most right now, he would take it. He was mentally crossing his fingers that Cas had indeed talked to her and maybe even talked some sense in the girl. ‘Please, let him have gotten through to her.’ Wren and Cas had always had a special bond between them. He really hoped that bond was enough.

Cas cleared his throat. “Yes, I talked to her a few moments ago. She seemed to be okay when she first answered,” Cas replied. Dean sensed some hesitation in Cas’s voice.

“Did you find out where she was?” Dean asked desperately. He wanted the angel to spit it out already. 

With regret coming through in his voice, “No, I didn’t get that far in the conversation before she hung up.”

“She hung up on you?” Dean was stunned at that. This was something that Wren wouldn’t normally have done. Not to Cas or anyone else for that matter. That was something else to add to the list of peculiar behavior that Wren had exhibited in the past couple of days. “What did you say to her?!?” Dean’s shock obvious in his tone.

“Dean, I just told her that Mary had asked to contact her about her well-being. She became most distraught when she found out that Mary had cut her trip short.” Sam entered the room after hearing Dean yell with a confused look on his face. He mouthed at Dean asking what was going on not wishing to interrupt the call. “She became very emotional when I told her that everyone was concerned about her.” Cas’s voice sounded even more pained now. 

Dean acknowledged Sam with a nod of head. He put the call on speaker so that Sam could hear. “And she hung up after that?” Sam looked at Dean with his eyebrows raised high. It was clear that Sam was just as surprised as Dean had been moments prior.

“At that point, no.” Cas paused. “ I hope she forgives me for this later. Dean, she was exhibiting some peculiar behavior.”

“Well, no shit, Cas. This whole situation is nothing but peculiar behavior on her part.” Dean was getting frustrated all over again. He wished the dang angel would get to the point already.

Cas began to explain, “I mean that she kept saying how she needed to get to Nashua. She repeated it a few times at the end of the conversation,” 

“Wait, she’s headed to Nashua? She said that?” Dean interrupted and Sam shot a look of confusion at Dean. They finally knew where she was headed. It should make them feel better, but it was raising more questions.

Sam decided then to get into the conversation, “Hey, Cas. It’s Sam. Did she say what was in Nashua?” 

“Hello, Sam.” Castiel cleared his throat. “She didn’t have to tell me. I already know. Nashua is where she grew up.”

Dean looked at the phone in his hand in shock, “That’s not what she told me. Why would she lie about that?” He looked up at Sam with a questioning look. Sam pursed his lips and shook his head to indicate that he had thought the same as Dean.

“I told her on several occasions that she should be honest with you about it. She said that it was too painful.” Cas told the brothers. 

“Too painful? Cas, what the hell are you talking about?” Dean was growing exasperated with this whole situation. He wanted, no, needed answers. They weren’t coming fast enough for his liking. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a monster to beat get the answers. He could move things along much faster that way but he couldn’t this time. 

“Dean, I am sorry but I promised her that I would not tell anyone. However, I can’t help the feeling that something is not right. So, I’m going to have to break my promise to Wren.” Cas managed to sound incredibly uncomfortable over the phone. 

That made Dean pause for a moment. ‘She had made Cas promise not tell them something? Why would she do that? What could possibly so bad that she wouldn’t want to tell them?’ Dread flowed through him. He didn’t like the emotions that he’d been feeling the past two days. He didn’t like that the source of those emotions was Wren even more.

Sam noticed that Dean seemed to be lost in thought and spoke up, “Cas, we get it. We really do, but I don’t think Wren will hold it against you if you told us since you’re worried about her. Maybe you can tell us the basics without going into detail?” There were a couple of beats of silence on the other end.

Dean ran a hand through his hair. He could feel his patience dwindling, “Cas, buddy, come on. Please.”

They could hear the angel moving around through the phone. Castiel finally broke his silence. “You know that her sister passed away in a car accident and she told you that she didn’t have any family left. Well, that’s not true. Her parents and brother are still alive. They blame her for the accident that killed her sister.” The brothers raised their heads simultaneously and looked at each other. They had not been expecting that. How could they? It did help explain why Wren never wanted to talk about the crash. 

Taking their eyes off each other and back to the phone, they try to process this new information. Sam finally speaks, “Why would her family do that to her?” 

“Sam, I’m not comfortable going into the details. It is Wren’s story to tell after all. I provided the basic reason as you stated that would be acceptable.” Dean rolled his eyes and sighed. Once again, Castiel was being very literal. 

Sam scrubbed his hands down his face, “Cas, look, did you get the impression that she’s in danger?” There was only silence from Castiel’s end of the line. “Cas? You still there?”

He finally answered, “Not immediate danger, no. But I do feel that something is not right.”

That was all Dean needed to hear. “Alright thanks Cas. We’ll call you.” Dean hit the button on his phone and ended the call.

Sam looked in shock at his older brother, “Dean, why did you do that?!?”

He shook his head and put the phone in pocket. “Enough of this crap.” He had reached his limit. He couldn’t wait anymore. He walked to the doorway of Wren’s room and looked back at Sam, “She can get mad at us later. Hell, I’ll take all the blame. I don’t care anymore. Something’s not right here. Even the angel said so.” He looked around the room quickly bringing his eyes back to Sam. “Sammy, get Mom. Now. I’m heading out in ten minutes with or without you guys.” He turned to walk to his room. He would be packing his bag faster than ever. “ I am done waiting.” 

 

-Hwy 303, outside Hudson, Ohio-  
-Wren’s POV-

Wren threw her phone down on the passenger seat. She closed her eyes and put her forehead on the steering wheel. Her feelings were overwhelming. No matter what the angel told her, she felt it. Her guilt and shame. Their disappointment and anger. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She contemplated calling one of them now instead of waiting. ‘Maybe Sam. No, that wouldn’t do any good. Definitely not Dean. That would make it worse. Mary? Ugh, no. Too much guilt there.’ Besides, she did need to get back on the road. She didn’t fully understand it but she felt this insistent need to get back to Nashua as soon as possible. And to see Robin, of all people. 

Her phone chimed. She turned her head still resting on the steering wheel and eyed the phone. She thought about not looking at it but curiosity won out in the end. ‘Well, speak of the devil.’ It was Robin.

R: Where are you? Shouldn’t you be here already?

A slight bit of irritation rolled through her. Did he really expect her to drive straight through? That was ludicrous. Even the “great” Dean Winchester couldn’t pull that off. 

W: I’m in Ohio still. The drive does take over a day you know. Plus I stopped to get some sleep so I didn’t fall asleep behind the wheel and there was a bad storm in Missouri.

The chat bubbles showed letting Wren know that her brother was texting. And they weren’t stopping. They kept blinking. ‘Oh, boy. Here we go. He’s going to read me the riot act because I stopped to take a nap. Typical. I’m somehow inconveniencing him and I’m going to hear all about it.’’ Wren rolled her eyes. She began wondering again why she was doing this when his message finally came through.

R: Alright, I was getting worried. Drive safe. Let me know when you are getting close.

Wren blinked several times at the screen. That was not a response she would ever expect from him. It didn’t seem like him to show concern for her. That little voice in the back of her mind was back telling her something wasn’t right. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. It had been replaced with a much louder and pushing one letting her know she needed to get moving, her brother was waiting on her.

W: Sure. I’ll contact you when I reach upstate New York. 

-Nashua, New Hampshire-

Robin read the text message from his baby sister and grinned. He placed the phone down and tapped his fingers on the table top. “Perfect.” He moved into the formal living room and sat down placing an arm around his companion. “She should be here in a matter of few hours. It’s almost over.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters have left the Bunker and are desperately trying to catch up with her. Mary questions the boys about what will happen after they do.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016  
Baby, IN-70 between Lewisburg & Brookville, Indiana

Baby was speeding down the highway. Dean sighed with his phone to his ear. “Yes, Cas.” He rolled his eyes while listening to the angel. “Yeah, Cas. I know.” Dean paused again while listening. “Look, all I’m saying is that we’ll probably get there before you do. We can switch drivers but you’re by yourself.” His head rolled over to the side slightly. His frustration level was rising, ”No, we are not going to wait until you get there.” Dean nodded his head. “Yeah, I know. Look, one of us will call you when we roll into town.” Dean hung up and put the phone on the seat next to him.

“So where is Cas now?” Sam asked while keeping his eyes on the map on his tablet. He had the route that they were on pulled up. He was scrolling over to the destination and back to their present position clearly not happy about the amount of distance that needed to be covered.

“He’s just leaving Tennessee. He said he had to wrap up a situation before he could leave.” Dean replied and used his right hand to indicate air quotes around the word ‘situation’. 

Mary scooted forward on the back seat and folded her arms across the back of the front seat. “I can’t believe he didn’t leave right away.” 

Dean glanced over his shoulder at his mother quickly over his shoulder, “Yeah, He didn’t sound very happy that we would get there before he would. I think I heard him mutter something about his wings at the end.”

“His wings?” Sam looked up at his brother and mother. He let out a small laugh and shook his head. He returned his attention to the map on the tablet showing it to Mary, “I think this is most likely the route that she would have taken since it seems to be the fastest without any tolls.”

Mary took a closer look at the route over Sam’s shoulder, “Why no tolls?”

“There would be a record of the car going through toll plazas. There are cameras that take a picture of the license plate and we try to avoid that,” Sam explained. Mary shot a questioning look at Sam. “It’s getting harder to not leave a trail behind anymore.” Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Just trying to make it harder for anyone that might be trying to track us.” Mary nodded her head in understanding.

“Wren probably has a limited amount of cash on her.” Dean added. “Cas said that she is acting like time is an issue which means she’s not going to take time to stop and do some hustling for more cash. The roads without tolls would be her best option.” He figured that Wren wouldn’t have the time to track down a good poker game since that was her preferred method of hustling. Her pool skills weren’t good enough yet to hustle effectively. That’s why she left that particular hustle to the Winchesters. 

“And probably our best bet to catch up with her if we can?” Mary asked. She scooted back on the seat.

“That’s what we’re hoping. There was a pretty bad storm that rolled through Missouri late Monday, early Tuesday. We came home early Tuesday morning so we figure she must have left Monday. The storm should have slowed her down maybe even made her stop for the night,” Sam stated while moving the map further along their planned route ahead of their current location.

“Which we are NOT doing.” Dean said while pressing his foot down on the accelerator pushing Baby even faster down the highway. Dean was determined to get there as fast as possible and the highway was going to be feel the brunt of it. He almost felt sorry for the pavement. 

Albany, New York  
-Wren’s POV-

It had been almost 8 hours since she had spoken with Castiel. 8 long hours where she just kept thinking. The past kept intruding her thoughts more the closer she got to her childhood home. She knew this would happen, it’s why she steadfastly refused to go back previously. She couldn’t figure out what changed. What exactly has made her change her mind after five years? It was as if a switch has suddenly flipped in her brain. However, anytime she thought about it for too long and too hard, she got an incredible headache. She was currently sitting in a booth of a chain restaurant that was prevalent in the area. It was not too busy at this time in the restaurant so the din of the customers and other general restaurant noise was not very loud. Wren was thankful for this until the aspirin kicked in and banished her headache. Again. It bothered her that she couldn’t figure out the mystery, but she didn’t want to risk compounding her headache even more right now. It was becoming hard to concentrate on the road.

Her phone vibrated on the table. She flipped it over so she read the display. ‘Aw, come on, Cas.’ She put the phone back down on the table. She started to rub her temples in a circular motion with her fingers. She knew that if she answered that she would get into another fight with the angel. She didn’t like fighting with him or any of Winchesters for that matter. She had done that enough growing up. She didn’t want to fight with family anymore. The waitress approached her table with her order and left it on the table, “There you go. Do you have everything you need?”

Wren looked up at the woman and smiled a little. She glanced quickly at her nametag. Debbie. “No thank you, Debbie. I believe I have everything. This looks delicious.” She pulled the plate closer to her.

“Just let me know if you need a refill or anything,” Debbie pulled some extra napkins out of her apron and placed them on the table before walking away. Wren just looked at the plate. She knew that she needed to eat but she just didn’t have the appetite. It seemed a shame and a waste of food.

Her eyes went back to her phone. She bit her bottom lip and tilted her head slightly to the left. Maybe she could send Cas a text. It would be a lot harder for them to get into argument while texting. He really did get a kick out of texting. It had been hilarious when he had discovered emojis. The memory brought a smile to her lips. It had irked Dean to no end. He would complain that it was just easier to type out the words instead of trying the decipher tiny faces for whatever emotion they were trying to convey. Then Wren had gotten the brilliant idea to teach Cas how to add memes to his texts. She had actually gotten the idea from a text that he had received from Claire. She had howled in laughter after Dean and Sam had received their first memes from Cas. She wished had taken a picture of their faces, Priceless would be the only accurate word that could have described them. 

She picked up the phone and started to text. She had trouble coming up with what to say though. She felt she could say ‘I’m sorry’ only so many times no matter how sorry she was. Maybe she just needed to think this out a little more before actually sending a message. Pursing her lips slightly, she placed the phone back on the table next to her plate. 

She thought giving herself a pep talk why she should eat would encourage her to do so. ‘Okay, I need to eat this. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. My body needs the fuel. Besides, I don’t want to be crabby from hunger.’ It didn’t work. She picked up a fork and pushed the food around on the plate. It was time to give it up, she would take the food with her. 

Wren signaled for Debbie the waitress to come back. Debbie came over almost immediately. Debbie glanced down and eyed the plate still full, “You need something after all?”

Wren smiled up at the waitress. “Actually, would you mind bringing me a to go container and my check, please? I just don’t have the appetite that I thought I did. It does look delicious though and I would like to take it with me.” She hoped complimenting the food would erase the unhappy look from Debbie’s eyes. She didn’t want her to think that Wren didn’t appreciate the food. It seemed to have worked.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll box it up for you and bring your check to you afterward.” Debbie patted her arm and took the plate away. Wren slumped back against the seat as Debbie walked towards the back of the restaurant. Exhaustion and stress were starting to eat away at her more and more as time passed. Her attention returned to her phone once again. She started to weigh her options again for the thousandth time. While she was lost in thought Debbie returned to the table with check and container of food. “Here you go. You sure you don’t want anything else?”

Wren smiled at Debbie again, “No, Debbie, thank you again. Really.” Debbie gave Wren a nod and a small smile before turning to take care of the rest of her customers. Wren picked up her stuff from the table to pay at the register while leaving a nice tip behind. 

After exiting the building, she made her way through the small parking lot over to the small red convertible. A smirk that she couldn’t help came across her face. Despite the situation, she was having a good time driving the car. She knew Dean would never let her anywhere near it after this was over. The thought of the anger that would be waiting for her when she returned made the smirk fall from her face. She exhaled heavily. ‘That’s it. I can’t wait until I get there. I’m just going to do it. Rip off the ole band-aid.’ She placed the to go container on the passenger seat, making sure that it wouldn’t slide off the seat when she got back on the road. She licked her lips and her fingers started flying on the phone’s keyboard.

W: I know I said that I would let you know when I got there. I’m not quite there yet but I had to let you know that I’m safe and should be there soon. Please let the boys know. Mary, I know I said it before but I really am sorry about this. I never intended for you to have to cut your trip short. 

W: I really hope that this doesn’t ruin our friendship. I did break some of your trust and I would like to earn it back. I really really would. After this is over. It will be a long hard road but I really hope that you will let me try. I hope all of you will. Please let the boys know that I will be in contact again when I’ve made it. 

She hit send and took a deep breath. There it was finally done. She suddenly remembered she needed to let Robin know she had reached upstate New York. She sent another text doing just that. She put her phone not bothering to wait for a reply from anyone. The siren song of the highway was calling after all..

Baby, I-90 east of Cleveland, Ohio

The phone on the seat started to vibrate. Mary turned it to look at the display. Her eyes went wide with surprise. “Dean. Sam. I’ve got a text message.”

“Well, Mom, that’s nice.” Dean grumbled from the driver’s seat, He looked at her in the rearview and his eyes narrowed. “Why do you look like you’re scared your phone is going to bite you?”

Mary picked up the phone from the seat and read the message. Sam turned around to look at his mother. “Mom?”He saw her lips get thin and put the phone in her lap. “Mom, what is it?”

She looked between her sons, Sam in the seat twisting his long body to look at her directly while Dean was flicking his eyes between the road and her in the rearview mirror. She spoke softly, “It’s from Wren.”

Dean slammed on the brakes. Baby skidded to a halt in the middle of the highway that luckily didn’t have a lot of traffic at that moment. “Dean!” Mary and Sam yelled at the same time. Mary bent over and picked her phone up from the floorboard. 

Dean turned himself so he look at Mary. “What?!? She can’t be there already. We’re too far away.” Dean turned his gaze to his little brother, “Sammy, you said-”

Mary placed a hand on Dean’s arm, “Why don’t I tell you what the message said, okay? So either pull the car over to the side of the road or start driving again. We can’t stay sitting here like this.” Dean made a face that let them know that he was not happy but faced forward in the seat again. He put Baby in drive and pulled onto the side of the road and cut the engine. He turned again in the seat but this time crossed his arms across his chest. Mary smiled at him, “Thank you. She said she isn’t there yet. She didn’t say exactly where she was but that she would contact us again when she did and to let you know.” 

There was a couple of moments of silence in the car. Sam spoke first, “That’s all she said?”

Mary shook her head, “No, she apologized again for taking off. She also apologized to me for cutting my trip to Jody’s short.” She paused. “And she wants to work on getting our trust back after this is over.”

Sam cleared his throat and a look of discomfort passed over his face quickly. Meanwhile, Dean rolled his eyes. Hard. “She has lot to answer for, that’s for sure. And as for getting my trust back? Yeah. Let her hold her breath on that one.”

Sam looked over to Dean, “Come on now, Dean. Based on what Cas told us, can you really blame her for not wanting to talk about it? She barely brings up her sister and they’re twins.” Dean gave Sam a hard look and raised his eyebrows. Sam tilted his head slightly, “Hey, we haven’t told her everything either if you want to be that way about it.”

Dean furrowed his brow at his brother trying to think of what Sam could be talking about, but nothing major was springing to mind. Finally he asked,, “Oh, really? Like what?”

He looked Dean straight in the eyes with a determined look on his face, “What about Adam?” 

Dean’s eyes widened and then narrowed. He practically growled, “Sammy, not cool.”

Just then Mary spoke up from the back seat, “Who’s Adam?” Both of their heads whipped to look at Mary. They had clearly forgotten, just for a moment, that their mother was in the car with them. Mary just looked back and forth between them ignorant of the minefield that they had just entered. Neither one of them was talking. “Well? Who is he? Why is he so important?”

Dean looked over at Sam and shook his head ever so slightly. Now was not the time to get into this. “We can talk about that later, Mom. It’s not important right this second. Right now, we need to get to Wren.”

“Even though, you’re mad at her?” Sam asked.

“Yes, Sammy, even though I’m absolutely livid with her.” Dean turned and started the car again. “That doesn’t negate that something is seriously wrong here. I don’t know what it is but I don’t like it.” He pulled Baby back onto the highway.

Sam readjusted in the seat so he was facing toward the front of the car again, “Well, Dean, none of us like it. Mom, can I see Wren’s message?” Sam asked over his shoulder. Mary handed over her phone to Sam. He read the messages that Wren had sent a few times. He passed the phone back. 

Dean’s thumb was thumping against the steering wheel and his gaze was fixed on the road. “Well?” Silence. “Sammy?”

“Huh?” Sam was looking out the window. He had obviously just been lost in thought. “Did you say something?”

Dean took a deep breath, “Yeah, Sammy, I did. Did you get anything from the text?”

“Oh, um, no. It was just like Mom said.” Sam said and turned his attention back out the window.

“So what’s with the looking out through a rainy window routine straight out of a 80s music video?” Dean asked him.

Sam whipped his head around and gave Dean a look that let him know exactly what he thought about that remark. With his eyes narrowed, he retorted, “Nice, Dean. I was just wondering how things are going to be after this over. Wren is right that the trust has been broken. How are we going to get back to where we were before? Are we going to get back there? Do I want to? All these really hard questions that aren’t going to have easy answers.”

Mary nodded in agreement. “Sam, all of those questions are natural. There’s one that can be answered right now. Do you want to let Wren back in? I know that I do.”

Sam thought about it for a moment. “I want to say yes.”

Mary leaned forward slightly, “Then why don’t you? What’s keeping you from saying it?”

Sam sighed, “I don’t know, Mom. I’ve been so focused on finding her that I haven’t really thought about it, I guess.”

Mary leaned back against the seat, “Fair enough, Sam, but remember you need to find the answer to that question before you start worrying about the rest.” She shifted her gaze to the left. “Dean, what about you?”

Dean grunted, “What about me? I don’t want to get sucked into this chick flick moment. That’s what I want.”

Mary crossed her arms and put the motherly tone in her voice. “Dean.”

Dean clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He maintained his silence. Mary said his name again injecting a stern undertone. Dean quickly flicked his eyes to see her face in the rearview mirror and didn’t like what he saw. The look that all mothers used to convey to their children that they meant business was currently sitting on Mary Winchester’s face. “Ugh, fine. Truth? I don’t know that I can trust her again. Maybe I trusted her too easily in the beginning. I don’t know, Mom.”

Mary’s face relaxed and her voice softened, “I can understand that, sweetheart, but do you want to fix things with her?”

Dean was silent for a few minutes, but this time Mary didn’t push. This was the big question. He cleared his throat and softly replied, “Yeah.” Mary smiled at that. The conversation died after that. Dean put his attention back on the road. Sam was on the tablet again. Mary opened her phone and replied to Wren’s message. Once finished, she put her phone back in her pocket. She laid down in the backseat to take a nap. Dean had been driving for quite a while and would need to be relieved soon at the wheel.

Nashua, New Hampshire

Robin had started pacing after reading the latest text from his sister. A lot. It was driving his girlfriend, Phoebe, crazy. “Robin, honey, please. It’s like watching tennis.” He stopped mid stride and looked at her in confusion. She rose from the plush couch and put her hand on his shoulder. “ You’re going back and forth like a ball at a Wimbledon match, sweetie.” She stretched up to kiss his cheek and turned to walk into the kitchen. He followed her.

“Phoebe, I can’t help it. I’m getting anxious. She’s so close.” Robin walked behind her down the hallway. “I just want this whole deal to be done.”

Phoebe approached the stove in their rather spacious kitchen and picked up the wooden spoon on the counter, “I can tell.” She put the wooden spoon down after giving the pot a thorough stirring. “Look, darling, I understand you’re all keyed up but you have got to get yourself under control before she gets here. Otherwise, all of this planning will have been for absolutely nothing.” She walked over to him and put her arms around his waist, “We don’t want that, now do we?”

Robin looked down at her and squeezed her waist, “No, no, you’re right. I have to get myself in check. I have faith in the plan.” Phoebe quirked one of her eyebrows. “And I have faith in you most of all.” Phoebe smiled at the compliment and pulled Robin down for a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wren arrives at her brother's house in Nashua and meets his girlfriend, Phoebe. Wren reaches out and contacts Dean to discuss her feelings about being home.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016  
-Nashua, New Hampshire-

Well, this was it. She had finally come back. After all these years. She had come back to the place she swore she would never set foot in again. Robin lived in the same neighborhood where they had grown up. She surprised herself when she remembered how to navigate the streets and only checked the navigation on her phone once. 

She pulled up the long drive up to Robin’s house. It was no surprise really. His house was a substantial size which reaffirmed to the community that the Krieger clan had status. Of course, their father’s golden boy would be successful. It looked like their father had one child that followed their parents’ plan. 

She exited the car and walked up to the front door. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it swung wide open. Robin greeted her with a rather large smile which struck Wren as odd. It threw her off. The only times that Wren could remember Robin genuinely smiling at her was when she was in trouble. Before she had time to think about that any further, Robin was pulling her into the house. “Wren, finally. We were starting to get worried,” Robin had his arm around her shoulders guiding her further into the foyer. Robin hadn’t changed much in the past five years. They both had the same shade of caramel brown hair while Robin had a small amount of gray around his temples now. 

Wren took a quick glance around the foyer. She didn’t see anyone else. She turned to face her brother, “I’m sorry, but did you say we?” 

“Well, yes. We.” A voice spoke from behind her. Wren whirled around to see a dark-haired woman strolling down the hall towards her and Robin. The woman approached Robin and put her arm around his. She looked exactly how Wren had pictured the woman that Robin would end up with. She reminded Wren of Alison Hendrix from Orphan Black. 

Robin put his hand over the woman’s and smiled down at her. “Forgive me. Wren, this is my girlfriend Phoebe Cleary. Phoebe, this is my sister, Wren Krieger.”

Phoebe and Wren shook hands. “I have been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time now, Wren.” Phoebe said with a large smile on her face. It was a large almost wolf like smile. It unnerved Wren slightly. “Come, you must be tired after your long journey.”

Wren blinked, “Yeah, just a little, I suppose.” She hadn’t realized how tired she was from driving, but now it was starting to hit her a little. 

Phoebe nodded her head and turned to Robin, “Darling, why don’t you make sure that the guest room is ready?”

Robin looked down at Phoebe and laughed. “Yes, dear, although I am sure nothing has changed since the last time I checked.” He ascended up the staircase still laughing.

Phoebe took her eyes from her boyfriend back to Wren and clapped her hands together, “Well, let’s get your bags from your car and bring them in so you can get settled. I’m sure you’re dying to get some sleep. Just wait until you try out that mattress. It is divine, I promise. We can catch up in the morning at breakfast. I must warn you, I make a mean Belgian waffle.” Wren mentally rolled her eyes. Of course she did. Phoebe was proving to be exactly like their mother. That thought made Wren shiver a little.

Wren found herself putting the same fake smile on her face that she always used with dealing with her mother. It was a habit that was hardwired into her brain. She pointed to the front entrance, “That would be great. I’ll just head out to my car and get my bag.”

Phoebe’s eyes rounded, “Bag? As in only one?” Yup, just like Elizabeth Krieger alright.

“Yeah, just the one. I travel rather light these days.” Wren replied. Wren went out the door before something slipped out of her mouth that shouldn’t. She jogged down the steps to the little car and opened the passenger door. The blinking light on the phone caught her attention easily since it was dark outside. ‘Wow, 5 missed calls and 8 text messages.’ She put the phone in her pocket. She would look at them once she was in the guest room upstairs and away from certain eyes and ears. They would probably start asking questions that Wren didn’t want to answer. She reached between the seats and pulled the duffle bag through. She locked the car and turned back toward her brother’s house. 

Robin had come back downstairs by the time Wren had come through door again. “That’s everything?” Robin had a look of judgement on his face upon seeing that she was only carrying one bag. 

She mentally sighed and tried to keep the tone in her voice light, “Yes, like I told Phoebe, I travel light these days.” She hitched the straps a little higher on her shoulder. 

“Yes, well. If you’ll follow us, we’ll show you to the guest room.” Robin and Phoebe both turned and began going up the stairs. Wren trailed behind them. She was looking around taking in the surroundings. The house seemed to be decorated in the manner she expected. It indicated that the owners had plenty of money without being over the top or gaudy. Wren would lay down money that Robin had an office that looked exactly like their fathers office had. They had reached the landing. Phoebe noticed Wren looking around and placed her hand on Wren’s arm. “We will give you the grand tour tomorrow as well. I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve done with the basement. The work was just finished and we are so pleased with it.” There it was again, that wolf smile that showed a lot of Phoebe’s teeth. 

Wren was getting a weird feeling from Phoebe but pushed it away. She figured it was because Phoebe was so similar to her mother. Wren thought it was best just to play happy little house guest and not cause any waves right away. She put that fake smile on again, “That would be wonderful. I’m looking forward to it.”

Robin opened the door to the room and walked through the doorway. Phoebe stepped aside and gestured for Wren to follow her brother into the room. As soon as Wren entered, the bag dropped her shoulder to her hand. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Wow.” Her eyes flitting around the room trying in vain to find a safe place to land. The room was a floral print nightmare. There were flowers everywhere. The walls, the chairs, the drapes, the bed. ‘Oh good Chuck, not the bed too.’ It was too much. She looked down at her feet and bit the inside of her cheek. She was trying her hardest to not be impolite.

Phoebe walked to the middle of the room and turned to Wren, “Isn’t it wonderful? I decorated this room myself. I am rather proud of it in case you couldn’t tell.” There was no way anyone could deny the pride that was radiating from Phoebe at that moment. Phoebe then walked over to one of the two doors on the opposite wall. “This door on the right is the closet. The door on the left is the bathroom. Private, of course.”

Wren quickly replied out of habit, “Of course. I really appreciate your hospitality. Both of you.” She walked over the bed and put the bag down. 

Robin approached Wren and put his hand on her shoulder. “Of course, Wren, you’re family.” Wren turned to look at him, but kept her expression controlled and passive. The alarm bells were ringing in her head however. She looked up at Robin’s eyes. It was as if there were several emotions in his eyes all at the same time making it impossible to determine what he was thinking or feeling. 

Phoebe walked past them back to the doorway. She turned and put her hand on the doorknob. “Robin, come on. Let the poor girl get some sleep. We’ll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow.”

Robin closed his eyes for a second. “Yes, yes. Tomorrow.” He removed his hand from Wren’s shoulder and made to the door, “Good night, Wren. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” 

Phoebe began to close the door, “Good night, dear. Please let us know if you need anything. There are fresh towels in the bathroom.” The door closed and Wren could hear them walking backs towards the stairs.

Wren exhaled and sat on the edge of the huge four post bed. She looked over her shoulder at the mountain of throw pillows in various floral patterns that somehow still coordinated with each other. She let her eyes roam the room again. The ceiling caught her attention. “Oh sweet Gabriel, she wallpapered the ceiling too,” slipped out of her mouth. Fighting the strong urge to flee the floral explosion and go sleep in the car, Wren picked up her bag and went into the bathroom. However, upon flicking the light on in the bathroom revealed even more flowers and it smelled like a grandma. “Oh come on,” Wren groaned. “Well, at least it doesn’t extend to the ceiling in here. That’s something.” She put her bag down on the counter and decided to grab a shower but there was no way she was using that rose shaped soap. No flipping way.

Robin and Phoebe reached the bottom of the stairs. “Phoebe, I can’t believe it. She’s here,” he looked at Phoebe with excitement dancing in his eyes.

“Robin. Keep your voice down.” Phoebe moved her eyes up to check the landing for Wren. She wanted to make sure she was still in the guest room. Confident that Wren was listening in, she took Robin’s hand and guided him into the den so they could have privacy. Once the doors were closed Phoebe turned and smiled at Robin. “Darling, I know you excited. Believe me. I am too.” She dropped her smile and put a more serious look. “However, we can’t risk blowing the plan this late in the game. This is a very crucial juncture. We’ll begin the final phase in the morning. Hopefully by tomorrow night, the whole deal can be put in the past and we can move on with our lives together.”

Wren exited the bathroom feeling better. She had done quite bit of thinking during her shower. Her instincts were telling her that something was off with Robin. She had been unsure until he had made the comment about her being family. That contradicted their entire relationship growing up. Reconciliation didn’t seem Robin’s style, not without a motive anyway. What motive could he possibly have? Why could he possibly get out of having Wren come back? Not money. He obviously had plenty of that while Wren didn’t. Well, she did technically. She would have to go crawling on her hands and knees to her parents to get it though. There was no way she was doing that. 

She did receive some money after Lark died but she had used some of that getting out of Nashua in the first place. Wren couldn’t bring herself to use it any more of it. So it just sat in a savings account practically abandoned. She doubted that Robin was aware of those funds and could see no reason why he would want it. No, it had to be something else. 

Wren was just making herself frustrated. ‘Time for a distraction. I let my subconscious work on it while I move my focus to something else. I guess I could play a game on my phone.’ Wren’s eyes widened. She started digging through her bag. Her fingers closed around her phone and pulled out. “Ha. Gotcha sucker.” Wren walked over to the door to the hall and pressed her ear against it. She didn’t hear anything. She couldn’t hear anyone moving around. She reached down and locked the door. She didn’t want any surprise visitors while she was using the phone. She had only one voicemail waiting so she listened to it. It was Cas wanting her to return his call. She saw no reason to keep it and deleted it. She opened the text messages next. Four were from Cas that were the same as his voicemail, he was worried and wanted to hear from her. One from Sam and Dean each. Mary had sent two. Wren wasn’t sure whose message to open next. Cas had the been the easy safe choice. She weighed her options. ‘Time to bite the bullet and put my big girl panties on.’ She opened the message from Dean.

D: WREN I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE THINKING I DON’T CARE YOU HAD BETTER CALL ONE OF US NOW

Yup, pretty much what she expected from him. She typed a quick message and hit send. She bit the edge of her thumbnail and waited anxiously for a response. 

-I-88, Princetown, New York-

Dean was laying in the backseat after his mother had insisted she take over driving for a while and he get some sleep. He was almost asleep when he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He reached down and pulled it out. He looked at the display. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing it correctly. Nope, it was a text message from Wren. ‘Holy shit.’ He quickly opened it but not sure what to expect. This would be the first contact he had from her in days.

W: Hey, D. I know it’s not a phone call but I made it here and I’m okay. I also know I’ve been ignoring you but I felt like I had to or I wouldn’t have gotten here.  
W: Though now that I’m here I’m seriously wondering why I came. 

Dean could see what she was trying to do. He knew he could be a jackass especially when it came to the people he cared about. He thought about what he was going to say for a moment. He didn’t want to upset her and have her cut off contact again.

D: I’m glad you’re okay  
D: You’re sure you’re safe right

Dean had just put the phone down on the seat in front unsure how long it would be before she replied. To his shock, Wren replied right away.

W: Yeah, about that. Something’s not right.

That was all it took for Dean’s protective instincts to completely override any other emotions he was feeling towards her. All of that shit could wait. 

D: Care to elaborate

W: I’m getting some seriously weird vibes here that have nothing to do with the Laura Ashley nightmare I’m expected to sleep in tonight.

D: Who the hell is laura ashley and why is she a nightmare

W: Laura Ashley is a home decor brand. Just picture lots and lots of flowers. Everywhere.

Dean made a face at that. Flowers everywhere? Yeah, that would give him definitely a nightmare.

D: Alright besides that what’s going on

W: I don’t know how to explain it. I had this huge urge almost like a compulsion to get here. I didn’t want anything to distract from me getting here. Now I’m here and I just want to leave. My gut is telling me to head for the hills.

Dean chewed on that for a moment. Wren had just admitted to acting out of character. He decided to get a little bit more information despite his wanting to tell her to book it out of there.

D: How long have you been there

W: About 2 hours, I think.

D: You’re ready to bolt already you just spent 2 days driving like a woman obsessed

W. I know.  
W. How much did Cas tell you?

D: Just that you had family there and they blamed you for your sister’s death he wouldn’t tell us anymore

W: Let’s just my brother and I were not close growing up. I can tell he wanted me to come but I can’t figure out why. He never does anything that won’t benefit him. I just don’t know what he could want from me. I don’t have anything he could possibly want. 

D: Look sammy and i taught you to trust your instincts if your gut says get out then get the hell out of there

W: Yeah, you’re right. I suppose that I could take off after breakfast tomorrow.

Dean chewed his lip. “Sammy? Mom?”

Mary spoke up from the front, “Dean, you should be sleeping.”

“Yeah, Mom, I know. Any idea how long until we get there?”

“I think Sam said that we would get there about 2 or 3 in the morning.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “That means at least another four hours.”

Dean nodded his head slightly, “Alright, thanks Mom.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart. Now get some sleep.”

D: We will be in town before breakfast cas should be too let us know time and place and we’ll meet you

-Nashua, New Hampshire-

Wren bit her lip. They would be early in the morning? Cas too? She felt love and guilt all at the same time. Of course they would drive halfway across the country to chase after her. Because they cared about her. That tore it, she was definitely out of here in the morning. Hurt feelings be damned. She would tell that them at breakfast that her coworkers had called about an emergency and she needed to return home.

W: Meet me at Not Your Average Joe’s 11:00  
W: Thank you Dean. Really, you don’t know how much this means.

D: Welcome little one see you in the am

Wren felt like crying. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve the Winchesters, but she was going to spend the rest of her life making this up to them. Feeling better after talking to Dean, she opened the rest of messages. Sam’s message was almost the same as Dean’s without the caps lock and less demanding but the core of the message remained the same. Mary’s messages were encouraging and improved her mood more giving her hope. She replied to Sam, Mary and Cas letting them know that she had been in contact with Dean and advised them of the plans for the meet up in the morning. She set the alarm on her phone. She definitely didn’t want to oversleep. She slipped the phone back in her bag and got into the bed. She knew that this room was going to give her nightmares probably about gardening in hell or being stuck at her grandmother’s house. ‘Her damn waffles had better be good.’


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wren has a nightmare of the night her twin sister, Lark, died. Wren has breakfast with her brother & girlfriend and lets them know she is leaving right away.

Spring Break, March 2011

Wren figured she had been at the party for a couple of hours. She didn’t really even know too many people there. It was just an excuse to stay out of the house and away from her parents. She hated coming home during break. The constant questions about school from her parents were driving her mad. Not questions about her classes or grades, they really didn’t care to hear the details about that. They asked questions about who was IN her classes or with whom she was spending her time outside of classes. Questions as to why she hadn’t rushed as her mother’s sorority, she was a legacy after all. Questions as to why she couldn’t more like Lark, but Wren couldn’t that against her twin sister, Lark. Wren knew it wasn’t Lark’s fault. No, the blame was solely hers. 

She was too different from the rest of the Kriegers. She didn’t want climb the social ladder. She didn’t care who her friends’ parents were or what they did for a living. They were her friends and that’s all that mattered to her. She would never come back to even visit her parents at all if Lark hadn’t begged her to do so. Wren would have done anything for her sister. 

So Wren had snuck out after dinner intending to just spend some time outside of the house. She had been sitting in a booth at a diner watching the rain outside when she had run into some kids from high school. One of them was having a party and insisted that Wren come.

So here she was, wandering around the house with a cup in her hand. She had lost track of how many drinks she had consumed. She wasn’t falling down drunk, but had a pleasant buzz which had enabled her to forget all about her parents for the moment. It seemed that the party was starting to wind down. It struck Wren when she had said goodbye to one of her old friends as they were leaving that she didn’t have a way home herself. She had caught a ride with the kids from the diner when they invited her. 

In Wren’s mind, there was only one option and that was to call Lark. The sisters had an agreement between them that if they needed a ride home that they would contact each other. Wren struggled to get her phone out of her pocket. She found her sister’s name in her contacts and pressed call. It rang a couple of times before Lark answered, “Hello?”

Wren immediately felt bad. She hadn’t meant to wake her, “Larky? Were you sleeping? Aw, Larky. I’m so sorry.”

“Wren?” Lark yawned, “Well considering it’s…. 1:30 in the morning, so yes, Wren, I was in fact sleeping.” Lark yawned again. “I’m just guessing here, but it sounds like you’ve been drinking and need a ride home.”

Wren felt more guilt creep in. “Well, yeah, but you were asleep. I’ll find someone else or call a cab.” Wren could hear her sister getting out of bed.

Lark stopped her there. With a firmness in her voice, she replied, “But nothing, Wren. You’re my sister and I’m coming to get you. Where are you?” Wren could hear that tone in Lark’s voice that let her know it was futile to argue. Wren knew that tone all too well. Lark was a force to be reckoned with when she had her mind set on something.

Wren decided to avoid the confrontation that would occur if she pushed it all together and moved on with the conversation, “Do you remember Jason Baze?”

Lark paused for a moment, “From high school? Um, vaguely. I definitely don’t know where he lives though.” Lark yawned again.

“His place is at the of Pepperell Circle,” Wren added sheepishly and mentally braced herself.

That seemed to wake Lark up completely, “Wren, that’s all the way across town!” 

“I know and I’m sorry.” 

Lark’s sigh came through the phone, “You don’t have anything to be sorry, it was just unexpected is all. It’ll take a little while to get there because of the rain though.”

Wren smiled, “Larky, I couldn’t have asked for a better big sister.”

Lark laughed, “Yes, I know. And you will owe me one for this, fyi.”

Wren was expecting that, “The usual?”

Lark pretended to think for a moment, “Yup.”

Wren shook her head at the predictability of her answer, “You got it. Banana chocolate chip muffins from Donna’s Place, that’s not a problem.” Lark had yet to find something from Donna’s that she didn’t like, but those muffins were by far her favorite item on the menu. “I’ll see you soon?”

Wren could hear Lark opening a dresser drawer undoubtedly getting fresh clothes to wear. Lark would never leave the house in her pajamas. “Yes, I should only be half an hour. Just be out front waiting, please. I don’t want to have to come looking for you.”

“No problem. I’m heading out there right now.” Wren hung up and went to sit outside on the porch watching the rain. 

Lark’s car slid up to curb a little while later. Wren stood and braced herself to run through the downpour. She made it to the passenger door of Lark’s BMW and practically threw herself inside closing the door behind her as quickly as possible. 

Lark glanced over and took in Wren’s appearance, “Wren, I swear, you are sooo lucky we’re twins. Look at you, you’re absolutely soaked.”

Wren smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “What would I do without my big sister?” Wren wrapped her arms around Lark over the center console and squeezed hard making sure that Lark could feel just how wet her shirt had gotten. Lark gasped from the shock of the cold water and tried to pry herself free from Wren’s arms.

“Wren! Please, you are freezing!” Lark shouted at her. Wren let go and sat back in her seat still grinning. Lark glared at her and smacked her in the arm. “Seriously? Was that necessary?” Lark shivered slightly. She took a good look at Wren and pressed her lips together. Wren looked like a drowned rat from the rain, but Lark could also see the look in Wren’s eyes that was always in her eyes after a dressing down from their father, “I’ll turn on the heater and get us warmed up.”

Wren flashed her a smile, “Thanks Larky.” Lark simply smiled in return and turned the car’s heater on so it would blast out of the vents on the both of them. 

Once she was satisfied with the settings, Lark pulled away from the curb. They had been on the road for about five minutes in silence when Lark spoke up. “Wren?”

Wren brought her head up from the headrest and turned it towards her sister. She was apprehensive since she had a good idea what the topic of conversation was going to be. “Yeah?” 

Lark flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. “You know you can’t let him get to you like that. Only three more semesters and he won’t be able to hold anything over you anymore. We’ll graduate and get our trusts.”

Wren crossed her arms and scoffed. “That’s easy for you to say. They couldn’t be more proud of their golden children. I’m like a noose around their necks.”

“Wren, no-” Lark started. 

Wren threw up a hand and cut her off, “Lark, yes. I’m surprised they haven’t offered me money to change my name and disappear so I won’t embarrass them any further.” The car was silent for a beat. “You know, actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

Lark scrunched her nose, “What’s not a bad idea?”

Wren laughed slightly, “Changing my name and disappearing. They can tell everyone that I went to study abroad or something. After a few years I’ll fade from everyone’s memory and become a small footnote in the family history or something. I think I’ll bring up the next time we’re having a discussion about ‘my behaviour and how I’m tarnishing the good family name.’ I know Elizabeth would go for it.”

Lark sighed and rolled her eyes, “Mom. Her name is Mom.”

Wren pointed her finger at Lark, “Well, yeah, to you. To me, she’s Elizabeth, one of my wardens.”

“Oh, Wren. I do know they’re hard on you. I know that their expectations can be ridiculous at times.” Wren looked at her with raised eyebrows and Lark caught the look out of the corner of her eye. “Okay, a lot of the time. Like I said earlier, we graduate in three semesters. We get the trusts set up for us by Grandmother Wagner. Mom and Dad won’t have anything to hold over us either one of us after that. We can do whatever we want after that.”

Wren closed her eyes and put her head back against the headrest. “Yeah, that’ll be nice. It just seems so far away.” The conversation died down after that. The only sounds were the wipers oscillating across the windshield and the rain hitting the car. Wren rolled her head to the left and looked at her sister. She didn’t know where she would be without her. She licked her lips and asked the question that had been plaguing her thoughts recently, “Larky, what are your plans after graduation?”

Lark blinked and smiled slightly. “Actually, I have been thinking about that.”

“And?” Wren dreaded the answer and started to chew on her thumbnail. 

“I thought, if it’s alright with you,” Lark shrugged her shoulders, “that you and I could make a break for Europe for a little while.”

Wren bolted upright in the seat, “Really?”

Lark laughed, “So you like that idea?”

Wren grinned broadly, “Oh my god, I love that idea! If you weren’t driving right now, I swear I would be giving you the biggest hug right now.”

Lark laughed again. “I thought you would. We could go to Spain. Or Belgium.”

Wren twisted towards Lark and put her hands together pleading, “Italy! Please say we can go to Italy!” 

Lark rolled her eyes, “Well, of course, we’re going to Italy. I know you want to see Venice.”

“You are the best sister ever!” Wren placed her hands on the center console and leaned in towards Lark.

Lark reached over and grabbed one of Wren’s hands, “Don’t you forget it.” Then there were sounds of screeching tires and crunching metal. Then everything went black.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Wren bolted upright in the bed feeling disoriented. She looked around the room rapidly blinking and taking large breaths. It took her a minute or so to remember that she was in the guest room from hell’s garden in her brother’s house. She flopped back onto her pillow with her eyes closed. It was never easy reliving the absolute worst moment of your life. She should have known that being back in this damned town would do this. 

She opened her eyes and looked out the window. It was still dark out. She reached over for her phone to check the time. The light from her phone hurt her eyes for a moment. She could read 3:12 on the phone’s display after her eyes adjusted. Groaning, she placed her phone back on the nightstand. She knew she had to distract herself before she was overcome with memories of the aftermath. It was easily the darkest time in her life and who in the right mind would want to relive that? Desperate for a way to distract herself, she began searching the room for something, anything. There was nothing.

“Well, I’m up now. Might as well see what’s in the kitchen, I suppose.” Wren got out of the bed and stuck her head out of the door. She listened for anyone still milling around. She didn’t hear anyone so she tiptoed to the stairs and listened again. The house was completely silent it seemed. She reached the bottom of the stairs and went down the hall that led towards the back of the house hoping she would be able to find the kitchen. She remembered Phoebe coming from this way when she had arrived. 

Fifteen minutes later, she had found the downstairs bathroom and the formal dining room. Wren cringed thinking about the cost of the florist bill for the household. It seemed there were arrangements everywhere. Hall tables, bathroom counters, pretty much any available surface had some type of decorative display thus far. It gave her another reason to be glad she was cutting out after breakfast. She eyed the next door. ‘I really really hope this is the right one.’ 

She stuck her head through the next doorway. Thanks to the moonlight shining through the window, she was able to make out some kitchen appliances. ‘Bingo!’ She found the lightswitch fairly quickly. She searched the cabinets as quietly as possible looking for the components of a cup of tea. It took some time since she was trying so hard to be quiet but she finally found everything she needed. She opted to heat the water in the microwave and removed it before it could beep and alert the household to her activity downstairs. She snagged one of the dozen different herbal blends that was stocked in the cabinet. 

After cleaning up after herself, she was headed back to the guest room when she spotted a set of double doors that she hadn’t checked in her search earlier. She opened one of the doors and couldn’t believe her eyes. It was an exact replica of their father’s den. The room made her extremely uncomfortable. She snagged one of the books closest to the door and get out of the room as fast as possible.

She made it back to the guest room without incident. She made herself comfortable in the bed to do some reading. She lucked out with the book she had grabbed downstairs. She had read Little Women before, but she didn’t mind reading it again. She sipped her tea and began reading about the March sisters once again. 

The alarm on Wren’s phone woke her up. She was pleasantly surprised that she had fallen asleep again after all. She turned off the alarm and got ready for the day. She made sure that all her stuff was packed back in her bag so she could leave to meet up with the Winchesters after breakfast was over. She wondered if Cas would be in town in time. He had responded to her text after she had fallen asleep to let her know that he too was on his way. 

She grabbed her duffle bag and items that needed to be returned and headed downstairs. She put her bag in the foyer so she could grab it on the way out. She put the book back and headed into the kitchen to return the cup. She was surprised to see that Phoebe was already in the kitchen. “Well, good morning there. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Wren shook her head, “No, I was just returning this cup. I had a cup of tea in the middle of the night,” Wren walked across the room to place the cup in the sink. “I hope I didn’t overstep.”

Phoebe opened the waffle iron and inspected the waffle that was inside. “No, dear, not at all. I hope you didn’t have trouble sleeping.”

Wren leaned a hip against the counter, “Just a little, but it’s my own fault. Do you need help with anything?”

Phoebe seemed to think about it for a moment, “I’m just finishing with the waffles and I have a breakfast casserole in the oven. If you wouldn’t mind setting the table in the dining room? It’s right through there.” Phoebe pointed to the doorway to her right. 

Wren decided to pretend as if she hadn’t found the room earlier. She nodded her head and went through the door. “Wow, Phoebe. There certainly a lot of flowers in here. It really….brings life to the room.” Wren said through the doorway as she struggled to come up with a compliment for the decorating in this room. It seemed even more hideous in the light of the morning.

“Why, thank you.” Phoebe beamed back at her as she placed a platter that held a stack of waffles at the center of the table. “Robin just doesn’t seem to understand how much of a difference they make in a room. He-” Phoebe was interrupted by the sound of a buzzer in the kitchen. “Excuse me, I do believe the casserole should be ready to come out of the oven. I’ll be right back.” Phoebe left the room and Wren breathed a sigh of relief. Phoebe’s wide grin and chipper personality were a little too much for Wren. She seemed way too happy in the morning for Wren’s taste. 

Phoebe breezed back in the room with the casserole dish and placed it next the platter of waffles on a trivet. Phoebe stepped back looking at the table. She readjusted the angle of a few things but generally looked pleased with the layout. She clapped her hands together and brought her eyes over to Wren. “That should do it. I believe we are ready to eat.”

As if on cue, Robin strode in the dining room and sniffed the air. A smile came across his face and he kissed Phoebe on her temple. “Good morning, dear. It smells wonderful as always.”

Phoebe pulled at his shirt collar giving it a slight adjustment. “Thank you. You have perfect timing. The casserole just came out of the oven.”

Robin nodded his head and moved to pull Phoebe’s chair out for her. She sat down and thanked Robin for the gesture. He looked up at Wren as he sat down in his own chair at the head of the table, “Good morning. How did you sleep last night?” Wren wasn’t surprised that Robin hadn’t pulled out a chair given their history. The question about her sleep did give her pause. She wondered if they had her moving around the house in the middle of the night after all. 

However, Wren didn’t get a chance to answer the question since Phoebe decided to answer for her. “She had a little trouble in the arena apparently. We had a little chat this morning while I was cooking.”

Robin’s hand paused on the way to his mouth and he glanced at his sister, “Really? I hope it wasn’t the mattress.” He moved his gaze to Phoebe, “We really should replace that one of these days.” 

Robin certainly wasn’t acting like he used to and it was starting to creep her out honestly. It was almost as if he was trying too hard. “No, the mattress was fine. I promise. I just have a hard time sleeping in unfamiliar environments sometimes.” She didn’t want to reveal the real reason why she couldn’t sleep. 

“Does that come up often?: Phoebe asked as she poured some sugar into her coffee. Wren didn’t answer immediately. Robin and Phoebe stopped eating and looked at Wren awaiting her answer. 

Wren cleared her throat, “I do have to travel for work sometimes so you could say that.”

Robin sat back in his seat and wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin, “I see. What is it that you’re doing again?”  
One of his eyebrows quirked up at the end of his question. 

Wren could read the judgement in the small movement. Wren knew the gesture intimately. It was one of their father’s trademark looks. Wren saw it many, many times during her childhood. Wren kept her poker face on and refused to show her brother how it bothered her. Wren lifted a shoulder lightly, “I’ve been doing some freelance consulting concerning obscure and arcane texts. We usually deal with people in academia.”

“We?” Phoebe inquired while tilting her head to one side. 

‘Shit. Way to slip up there, genius.’ Wren managed to recover quickly. “Well, yes. It’s actually a family run firm. Everybody kind of has their own specialized area.” She put a small smile on her face. 

“Well now, that sounds really interesting. How did you become involved in that?” Robin steepled his fingers together. Wren wondered if he was consciously mimicking their father. It was beginning to get on Wren’s nerves regardless. 

“I started helping the brothers on a couple of side jobs doing basic research and it morphed into a permanent position.” Wren replied. She didn’t want to talk about ‘work’ anymore but it was going to provide the reason for her approaching early departure. “Actually speaking of my work, I’m afraid that I received a call from one of my colleagues and they need to me to return to help on a hard assignment. I’m going to head back after breakfast.”

Robin shot up in his seat, “But you just got here.” He looked over at Phoebe with a slightly panicked look on his face. His eyes seemed to be pleading with her.

Phoebe reached over and gripped Robin’s hand. “Now, dear. If she has a work emergency and she needs to leave then then it’s what she has to do.” Phoebe turned her head to Wren. “I had hoped that we would have more time together but we understand, don’t we, Robin?” She cut her eyes at Robin.

Robin seemed to actually be at a loss for words. Phoebe squeezed his hand. That seemed to snap him out of it. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Phoebe rose from her chair and began to clear the table. It seemed breakfast was officially over. “When did you plan on leaving?” She lifted the casserole dish and looked at Wren.

“Actually as soon as breakfast was over.” Wren was trying to process what she had just witnessed. ‘Why would Robin be so upset?’ It didn’t make any sense to her. It didn’t matter since she was getting ready to leave anyway. She got up from her chair and proceeded to gather her own dishes.

Phoebe walked back in, “Oh, don’t worry about those. I will get them. Robin should give you that tour of the house before you leave.”

Robin scrambled to get out of his chair, “Yes, yes, absolutely.”

Wren opened her mouth to protest. Phoebe smiled that overly large grin again, “No fussing. We insist.” Phoebe grabbed some of the cutlery and left the room again. Wren accepted defeat in this instance. They seemed very excited to show off their house and it wouldn’t kill her to humor them. 

Robin gestured to the hall, “Please, let’s get started.” Wren nodded her head and followed him out of the room. He turned to the left which surprised her. The den and living room were in the other direction. Wren hadn’t made it past the kitchen during her exploring in the early morning. Robin open the door that was across the hall from the kitchen. He turned to her and smiled, “I figured we would start with the basement. We just finished some work down here not too long ago.” 

Robin flipped the light switch but nothing happened. A look of confusion was on his face. He flicked the switch up and down a couple of times. Nothing happened. “Well, that’s inconvenient. There’s another at the bottom of the stairs. I’m sure that is working.” He grabbed a flashlight that was hanging next to the door. He turned and slowly made his way down the stairs. “Watch your step. Don’t need you falling and hurting yourself.”

Wren laughed halfheartedly. She just wanted this tour over so she could get out of here. She slowly followed her brother down while keeping one hand on the wall. They arrived at the bottom and Robin handed her the flashlight. “Just stay right here. It won’t take me but two seconds.” Wren thought it odd but agreed. Wren had begun to roll the flashlight in her hands. She felt something crack her in the back of the head and everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters & Cas arrive in Nashua to meet Wren but she doesn't show up. Robin & Phoebe has trapped Wren in the basement so Phoebe can cast a spell putting Wren's soul on Robin's demon contract instead of his. The changed deal is discovered in Hell and brought to Crowley's attention.

-Thursday, September 16, 2016-  
-Interstate 88, New York/New Hampshire-

Dean had told Sam & Mary about his conversation with Wren after he had woken up from his short nap. 

Sam was still struggling with the questions Mary had asked earlier. He had tried putting himself in her place. He could understand her leaving the city after the accident. The thing he was having trouble was that she had never opened up and told them the rest after all their time together despite what he had said to Dean earlier. 

Outside Albany, he realized that he and Dean were in facts being huge hypocrites. If someone was to compile all of the things that they hadn’t shared with her, you would have several books worth. Of course, he tried to point this out to Dean.

“We have a lot to talk about. All of us. I’m not denying that, Sammy. Are we going to go through everything in one sitting? Hell no. Right now, we are going to talk about the situation at hand first. Everything else can wait.” 

One of Sam’s eyebrows rose, “You mean the stuff we haven’t told her, for instance?” 

That’s when Dean told Sam to shut his cakehole. That prompted Mary to smack Dean in the back of the head from her spot in the backseat. Dean rubbed the back of head and started muttering under his breath.

Mary leaned slightly forward and narrowed her eyes at Dean, “Sorry, son, did you say something?”

Dean’s hand stilled and his eyes rounded, “Nope, not a word.”

“I didn’t think so.” Mary leaned back against the seat and folded her arms. She caught Sam’s eye in the rearview mirror and winked at him. Sam laughed and Dean threw him a dirty look.

It had been early morning and Sam was behind the wheel when they passed the sign letting them know they had passed into the Nashua city limits. Cas had called and let them he was only an hour behind them. They agreed to meet up at the Fireside Inn. It would give everyone a chance to get cleaned up and according to Dean “who in the right mind would pass up a free breakfast.” No one was in the mood to argue with him and it was only ten minutes away from the restaurant where they were meeting Wren. 

-Nashua, New York-  
-Fireside Inn, Room 119-

Dean was sitting one of the beds in their hotel room flipping through channels. He somehow managed to find a spaghetti Western and dropped the remote on the bed. “Awesome.” He put a hand behind his head and made himself comfortable on the bed. 

Sam was sitting at the table on his laptop. He looked up at the television and rolled his eyes. “Dean, are we going to talk about this before we meet with Wren?” There was a knock on the door. Sam got out of his chair and approached the door. 

Dean kept his eyes on the television, “Sammy, there’s nothing to talk about right now. Just see who’s at the door wouldja?”

Sam turned while walking to the door, “What do you think I’m already doing?” Sam looked through the peephole and opened the door. “Hey, Cas. Glad you made it.” He moved to let the angel through the door.

“Hello, Sam.” Cas entered the room and sat in one of the chairs at the table. “Hello, Dean.” Dean was so engrossed in the movie on the television that he merely nodded his head to acknowledge Cas and his greeting.

Sam returned to his seat, “Sorry about him.” Sam pointed to his older brother. 

“It’s alright, Sam. Dean does not want to deal with his feelings about Wren.” Castiel stated.

Dean shot up from the bed and pointed his finger at Cas, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell are you talking about, man?” Sam sat back in his chair and drank some of his coffee. He was curious to hear what Cas was talking about himself. 

Cas tilted his head, studying Dean before he answered. He squinted his eyes briefly. “Dean, I am speaking to your aversion to ‘chick flick moments’. You don’t like to talk about your emotions. You have made that clear on many occasions.” Sam chuckled as Cas made air quotes with his hands. 

Dean walked over to the table and slammed one of his hands down, “You know what, Cas? How about I’m saving all my emotions for later, hmm? I’m going to talk about a whole bunch of emotions when I see her later. She is going to get an earful of emotions.” Dean looked back and forth between Sam and Castiel. “Does that answer satisfy you two?” 

Dean pushed off from the table and flopped back down on the bed. He shot a quick glare at the pair sitting at the table then returned his focus to the Western. Sam looked over at Cas and shrugged his shoulders. 

-Robin’s basement-

Wren’s head was pounding. She went to rub the back of her head, but her arm wasn’t cooperating. She tried again and confirmed her suspicion that she was tied to the chair she was sitting on. Her vision cleared a little and she could make out hazy shapes on the walls. They looked familiar but Wren couldn’t sense of them right away. She tried again to look at the symbols on the wall she was facing. She guessed that she was still in the basement. There wasn’t anything in the room but Wren in her chair and Phoebe standing behind a table. Her brain just was not cooperating. Why had she agreed to the stupid tour of the stupid house? She should have just eaten her waffles and hightailed it out of this nuthouse. 

Phoebe looked up and noticed that Wren was awake. “Look who’s awake.” Phoebe put down a large black feather next to a bowl.

Wren opened her mouth to tell the bitch where she could shove her sunshiney attitude but nothing came out. ‘Oh Chuck.’ Wren could not believe her luck. Of course, her brother was dating a witch. That’s when it hit her. She shifted her gaze back to the walls. Runes, Sigils. Wards. That’s what is all over the walls and she was surrounded by them. ‘I am so screwed.’ Wren started to tug at the zip ties on her wrists again. 

Phoebe bent down so she was at eye level with Wren. “You can struggle all you want. You’re not getting out of here. We need you too much.” Wren narrowed her eyes and tried to lunge at Phoebe. All that accomplished was scooting the chair forward a couple of inches and digging the restraints deeper into her flesh. Phoebe chuckled as she stood upright again. “You know when I first came up with this idea, I don’t think there was any way I could have imagined how much I was going to enjoy it.” Phoebe was wearing that weird smile of hers again. Wren wanted to smack it right off her face and when she got free that’s exactly what she was going to do. 

Robin came jogging down the stairs. He was carrying some jars but Wren couldn’t tell what was in them. “And what are you enjoying, darling?” He was now wearing the same look on his face that he always wore whenever Wren had been summoned into their father’s den. That look meant Robin was taking pleasure in Wren’s suffering. Wren felt her stomach drop and the sense of impending doom crept through her veins. 

Phoebe replied gleefully, “Why offering up your sister’s soul in exchange for yours. This is one of the most complicated spells I have ever done in my five hundred years so I have to generate a lot of power. I can feel it building even now. It’s tangible. I can feel it. Taste it even.” Wren could feel it too. There was a heaviness in the atmosphere of the room that hadn’t been there when she had first come down here.

Wren tried to digest that bit of information. Phoebe was five hundred? Old witches meant a lot of power in Wren’s experience. Wren couldn’t figure out what the hell Phoebe had meant when said soul exchange. Why would they need her soul to replace Robin’s? There had been plenty of times growing up that Wren and Lark had wondered if Robin had one. She guessed this was confirmation that he did have one. It was probably shriveled and black but he still had one.

Robin eyed Wren suspiciously, “You’re being very quiet, little sister. That’s very, very unlike you. You used to tell me off any opportunity you got.” He walked around her and tugged on the restraints checking them.

“That’s because I put a silencing charm on her vocal chords.” Phoebe replied without even looking up from the book in front of her. She shrugged her shoulders, “If we had used a gag, she would still be able to make sounds around it. Frankly, I’m not in the mood to hear the pitiful noises that would undoubtedly come from her.” Wren narrowed her eyes at Phoebe but didn’t try to move. That would explain why Wren hadn’t heard anything when she had tried to speak earlier.

Wren knew she needed to do something so she was conserving her energy. She couldn’t let Phoebe complete the spell. She didn’t want to lose her soul especially if it benefited Robin, the scum sucking sleazeball, somehow. Of course, that was going to be very complicated considering her current situation.

Robin had gone upstairs once again. He returned and placed a couple of containers on the table in front of Phoebe, “That should be the last of it.” He looked around the room and his eyes landed on Wren. A malicious glint came into his eyes. “What else needs to be done?”

Phoebe picks up a paper from the table. “Let’s check the list, shall we?” Her pointer finger moved down the page. “The wardings are done. We have the subject of transference.” Phoebe pointed at Wren. “Now this sigil need to be painted on the floor around her. It will help in bind the new deal.” Phoebe walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a small can of paint. She walked back to the table and put the can down. She began to look through the jars on the table. She made a noise of disappointment. “Robin, I need you to go up to the kitchen. You will need to bring back some basil and ground mustard. The mustard should still be on the counter from breakfast.”

Robin recoiled, “You used mustard in the waffles?”

Phoebe rolled her eyes, “Just in the ones that Wren ate. I wanted to ensure that she would take the house tour. Mustard aids in acceptance and control.” Phoebe began to separate what Wren assumed ingredients that were needed for the spell into two piles. 

Robin was back fairly quickly with a small jar in each hand, “What do you need the basil for?” He placed them on the table next to the paint. 

“Basil helps bindings. I’m going to mix the mustard and basil into the paint that’s going to be on the floor around her.” Phoebe put the basil and mustard into a mortar and pestle that looked to be really old. She began to grind the ingredients together. When she was satisfied with the results, she placed her hands over the mortar for a moment. She then poured the powder into the paint and stirred it together. 

Robin had been standing by silently obviously waiting until Phoebe has finished, “Is that on the walls too?”

Phoebe shook her head, “I boosted those with vervain for enchantment. Those sigils are to keep anything, like say a demon, from interfering with my spellwork.” She crouched down onto the floor and proceeded to paint a fairly large and complicated pattern on the concrete with Wren in the middle. Robin had followed Phoebe as she moved around on the floor. He held a piece of paper that she would glance at to verify she was painting the symbol properly. 

When she had completed the symbol, Robin helped her off the floor. She rubbed her lower back, “We will need to wait for this to dry. I don’t want to chance smudging one of the lines given the complexity of this spell.” She checked the watch on her wrist. “It’s just about 11:00. Robin, what do you say we head out to lunch? The paint should be dry but the time that we return and then we can finish the spell.” Wren panicked when she heard the time. She was supposed to be meeting the Winchesters right now. They had no way of knowing what happened to her. They would probably think she blew them off or maybe even that she took off again. 

Phoebe looked at Wren with a smug look, “Wren, you be a good little girl and stay right there.”

Robin laughed, “As if she has a choice in the matter.” Phoebe laughed as well. 

Wren watched them ascend the stairs. She heard the door close. She began to pull on the restraints. 

-Not Your Average Joe’s-

Sam checked his watch for the third time nervously. It was after 11:30 and Wren was late. Mary and Cas were talking in hushed tones to each other. Mary would glance at Dean occasionally. Dean’s leg was bobbing up and down under the table and he had his gaze firmly fixed on the parking lot through one of the large windows. 

The waitress approached the table for the third time, “Do you want to wait for the rest of your party or would you like to go ahead and order?”

Sam was just about to say they would wait when Dean spoke up. “You know what? I would like to go ahead and order.” He flipped open the menu.

Sam heard the waitress let out a big breath. He was sure she was scared that Dean would bite her head off again. She had gotten quite the earful the last time she had been at the table. Mary had scolded Dean afterwards that the poor girl was just trying to do her job. 

The waitress pulled out her notepad and pen ready to take their orders. Dean ordered the Sweet Blue Burger “hold the green crap.” Sam ordered the Waldorf Salad and Mary got the shrimp tacos. Cas had politely informed the waitress that he didn’t require sustenance. The waitress gave him an odd look, informed the group that she was going to put the order in immediately and left the table.

The food came and Wren still wasn’t there. The check came and Wren still wasn’t there. It was almost 1:00. They left the table and went to the parking lot. Dean opened the door to get in the Impala.

It hadn’t escaped anyone’s attention that Dean had been virtually silent the entire time in the restaurant. Sam stopped him from getting in the car, “Okay, Dean. Out with it.”

Dean whirled around, “Out with what, Sammy? The fact that we’ve been burned by her. Again. This is it. I’m done. I had decided I was willing to give her a chance and she blew it.”

Mary approached Dean and put a hand on his shoulder, “Dean, honey. Perhaps something came up and she couldn’t make it.” Dean looked at everyone. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He took Mary’s hand off his shoulder and got in the car. 

After the door closed, Mary looked at Sam with a look of despair on her face. She knew Dean was hurting. Sam gave her a hug, “Don’t worry, Mom. He’s just hurt right now. We’ll go back to the hotel and figure out what to do.” They all got into the Impala and Dean drove them back to the hotel.

-Robin’s basement-

She had pulled, pushed and twisted against her arm restraints to no effect. Her toes were just barely touching the floor so she couldn’t use her feet as leverage. However, she refused to give up. She had begun to sweat from all her efforts. The sweat did help however Wren had run out of time. Phoebe had returned to the basement before Wren could get free. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better after a nice meal.” Phoebe cackled. The witch was really beginning to push all of Wren’s buttons. Phoebe went around to the table and shuffled a couple of things of around. When she seemed to be satisfied, she called out for Robin. Wren didn’t stop trying to free herself, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

Robin came bounding into the room. His eyes were bright and shining. “Is it time, my love?” Wren thought he looked like a five year old who was just told he was going to Disney World. Wren added punching him in his smug face to the list of things she was going to do after she got free. 

Phoebe put her hands down on the table smiling. “It is, my beloved. I just need blood from you and your sister now.” Phoebe grabbed the bowl and a knife with a curved blade from the table and approached Wren. Wren tried to back away from Phoebe. Robin came behind Wren and held her shoulders. Phoebe smiled at Robin and put her hand on his cheek, “We are going to be so happy together.” 

Phoebe moved her attention back to Wren with an evil glint in her eye.. “This is going to sting.” She sliced Wren’s left cheek open. Wren tried to get out of Robin’s grasp and away from the bowl. It was futile. Phoebe moved the bowl away from Wren’s jaw having collected some of Wren’s blood. Phoebe looked at Robin, “Your turn, love. Don’t worry, I don’t need a lot. I just wanted to make her bleed.” Robin gave Phoebe his hand and she sliced his palm. Robin turned his hand and clenched his fist so a few drops of his blood with go into the bowl. 

Phoebe took the bowl back to the table. “Robin come out of the sigil. I have to pour salt around the edge to help set the spell.” Robin moved to stand next to the table as Phoebe poured a thick line of salt on the edge of the design on the floor. Finished she went back to the table. She added the ingredients she had set aside previously to the bowl and chanting.

ff galw ar  
Teim i newid y eneidiau  
Llygoden i dwyll y deiliad cytundeb  
Broom i alw gweithredu ar ran fy anwylyd  
basil i rwymo'r fargen newydd  
gelyn i gydnabod y groesffordd lle mae'r fargen ei tharo  
lafant i gyflawni fy nod  
rhosmari i gynyddu fy siawns  
gigfran i ennill ffafr  
sinamon i ganolbwyntio yr egni  
gwaed y brawd i'w tynnu  
gwaed y chwaer i gymryd lle

Wind started to blow in the basement. Wren felt a slight burning sensation in her chest. Robin must have felt the same thing since he lifted a hand to his chest. Phoebe raised her arms towards the ceiling. The wind grew stronger. 

Bydded i'r enaid y chwaer yn disodli'r enaid y brawd  
Bydd yn talu'r pris yn lle hynny  
Fy anwylyd Bydd mynd am ddim  
Gan bydd i fod mor brycheuyn iddo fod

Wren’s chest felt like it was on fire. The sensation moved to her entire body. She was in pure agony. She opened her mouth to scream but thanks to Phoebe’s silencing charm nothing came out. Robin had fallen to his knees and was clutching his chest with both hands. The wind died down. Wren slumped against the chair exhausted breathing heavily. She felt like had run three marathons in a row.

Phoebe ran to Robin and helped him off the floor. “You didn’t tell me it was going to hurt.” Robin whined.

Phoebe frowned, “I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t want you to worry. There was nothing that I could do about it. I was making changes on the soul level. Please forgive me.”

“I still wish you had warned me.” Robin was leaning against the table. Phoebe helped Robin to stand again and started to walk him to the stairs. 

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs into bed. You can recover up there. We’ll deal with her later.” Phoebe struggled to help Robin up the stairs. It took them a few minutes. They hadn’t even noticed that Wren had passed out.

-Contracts Dept, Hell-

When Percy had agreed to sell his soul all those years ago, he never dreamed he would end up doing Hell’s paperwork. He doubted that anyone had ever considered that Hell had someone deal with paperwork. Percy was sorting through the crossroads contracts that had just come in. It seemed to be just another day in the office cataloging the new contracts so they could be filed in the Soul Pending section until the soul was collected by the hellhounds. Until he noticed there was a noise coming from the archive room. 

Percy headed into the large room filled with rows and rows of shelves filled with brokered demon contracts. He followed a loud buzzing noise into the Soul Pending section. He past a couple of rows when he noticed a red glowing sigil on the end of shelf. The archives had wards placed all over them. He stopped in front of the sigil and closed his eyes. He hoped he was hallucinating. Taking a deep breath, he opened one eye. Nope, not hallucinating. This was so not good. 

He hurried down the aisle to find the scroll that had set off one of the wards. The buzzing noise was grew louder as he progressed down the aisle. He found the scroll that was glowing bright red and removed it from the shelf. Luckily, the buzzing stopped as Percy had picked it up. He turned and ran out of the room.

Seeing a demon run down one of the hallways in Hell wasn’t a normal sight. Percy knew he had to get the scroll to the throne room immediately. In haste he may have pushed another demon or four into a wall. He came to halt in front of the throne room doors and knocked firmly. The doors opened and a gruff order to enter came out.

Percy walked in and the doors closed behind him. He stopped in front of the throne. “Your Majesty, we have a problem with one of the contracts.”

Crowley rolled his eyes, “We?”

Percy cleared his throat, “I mean we as in the contract departments, Sir.”

Crowley was straightening the cuff of shirt. When Percy didn’t continue, Crowley raised his head and quirked an eyebrow, “And?”

Percy stepped forward and presented the still glowing scroll to the king. Crowley reached forward and snatched the scroll from Percy’s hand. “This scroll is red. Do you know what it means when one of the contract scrolls turn red?” Crowley said in an flat tone.

Percy nervously swallowed. “Yes, your highness.” 

Crowley looked at the demon and twirled his hand to indicate that Percy should continue, “And?”

Percy clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking. He was aware of Crowley’s reputation and he wouldn’t allow himself to be fooled by his pseudo-calm demeanor. “Red indicates that someone has attempted to change a contract.”

Crowley nodded his head, “Yes, very good. So, WHY DIDN’T YOU OPEN WITH THAT?” Percy flinched at Crowley’s raised voice. “Do you open it and look to see what had been changed?” Crowley pointed the scroll at Percy.

Percy shook his head, “No, your highness. I ran here as soon as I found it on the shelf.”

Crowley rose from his throne, “Well, I’ll give you points for that at least.” He thrust the scroll into Percy’s chest. Percy grabbed the scroll before it could hit the floor. Crowley strode past him and began to walk around the throne room. “Why don’t you open it to see what set off the alarm so to speak?” Crowley stopped and leaned against one of the columns.

Percy unfurled the scroll. His eyes scanned the text looking for the bright red ink that would indicate the changes. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Your highness, it seems as though has changed the name of the soul bearer and the date of collection.” He held out the section toward Crowley for his inspection. Crowley reached out and snatched the scroll from Percy’s hand once again.

He started at the beginning and read the contract through. It didn’t take long. It was a rather simple contract without any special clauses or conditions. His eyes widened when he read the name now on the parchment in bright red ink. He recognized the name immediately. “Songbird?” Crowley muttered. He continued down the collection date. “Someone thinks they’re clever. However, I am better. So much better.”

“Shall I contact the hound caretakers?” Percy asked.

Crowley rolled the scroll back up and tucked it in the inside of his jacket. “No, no. That won’t be necessary. I need a bit of fresh air. I’ll handle this matter personally.” He straightened his jacket and eyed the demon. “Is there something else?” He asked annoyed with the demon’s presence.

Percy blinked, “I was just wondering about ‘songbird’. I don’t remember seeing that on the scroll.”

Crowley stopped walking toward the doors. He hadn’t realized he had said it aloud. He turned around and sighed. “You heard that, did you?” Crowley snapped his fingers and Percy exploded. “Damn, I’m going to have to get someone to clean that up now.” Crowley opened the doors and left the throne room. 

He approached a demon walking down the hall. “There’s a mess in the throne room. I want it cleaned up before I return. Is that understood?” The demon nodded her head to indicate yes and ran off towards the throne room. “Sometimes it is good to be the king.” Crowley smirked and continued down the hall.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley informs the hunters what happened in Hell. They join forces to rescue Wren.

-Thursday, September 16, 2016-  
-Nashua, New Hampshire-  
Dean barged into the hotel room and threw his coat down on one of the beds in the room. Cas was upset and staring out one of the windows since he had walked back into the room. Mary and Sam sat down at the table. They watch Dean pace for a few minutes. He still hadn’t said anything since the parking lot. Dean suddenly stopped in front of the table. He reached inside his shirt and grabbed the cord that was hanging around his neck. He ripped it over his head and slammed it on the table.  
“Here. You take care of it now,” Dean spat out. He turned, grabbed his jacket and was out the door again.  
Sam closed his eyes and put his hands in his hair.. Mary picked up the cord that Dean had taken off. She saw a ring dangling on the cord. “Is this what I think it is?,” Mary asked.  
Sam opened his eyes, “Hmm, what’s that, Mom?” He looked at his mother and then to the cord. “So, that’s what happened to it,” Sam whispered. He took the ring gently between his fingers and smiled sorrowfully. “Dean said that he had put it somewhere safe. I didn’t imagine he meant on his person.”  
“Dean knows the significance of that ring to Wren.” Cas wandered over to the table from the window. He looked at the ring in Sam’s finger. “That truly is her most prized possession.”  
Sam studied the ring lost in thought. His face lit up suddenly and looked up at the angel, “Cas, that’s it.”  
Mary looked at her youngest son, “What’s it?”  
Sam turned to Mary, “This ring IS her most prized possession. She told us that she would be back for it. She wouldn’t just abandon it. She told us to take care of it.” Sam had a small smile on his face now, “I think something happened to her.”  
Cas looked at Sam bewildered, “I don’t understand. Why do you look so happy at the possibility of harm coming to Wren?”  
Mary looked at the angel, “He’s not happy about Wren being hurt, Castiel. She rose from her chair and put a hand on his arm. “I believe Sam is happy for the moment because he just realized she didn’t take off.”  
Cas was silent for a moment. “So she didn’t lie to us about meeting this morning?” Cas asked hopefully.  
Mary shook her head no. “No, I don’t believe that she did. I truly believe she fully intended to be there.” She looked at Sam. “So, how do we find out happened to her?”  
-Needham Asylum  
-Fall River, Massachusetts-  
Crowley descended the steps outside the asylum. When he was sure he was out of earshot of any demons that could possibly overhear, he pulled out the phone from his pocket and hit autodial for ‘Squirrel.’ He kept walking down the path while the phone. He got Dean’s voicemail. He tried twice more. He hung without leaving a message every time.  
“Just bloody great.” He muttered. He went back to his contacts and selected ‘Moose’. “If I have to call that bloody angel about this….”  
Sam answered, “Crowley? Look, now’s not a good-”  
Crowley appeared in the room next to Sam and put the phone back in his pocket. “Time. Yeah, yeah. I tried to the short one but he didn’t answer. Quite rude actually.” Sam put his phone down on the table and snatched the ring and cord off the table. He shoved it in his pocket and shot a frustrated look at Crowley.  
Crowley took a look around the room and noticed they weren’t in the bunker, “Where are we?”  
Cas answered, “The Fireside Inn.”  
Crowley rolled his eyes, “What city, Wings?” Mary took a couple of steps back and sat on the nearest bed. She still wasn’t comfortable in the King of Hell’s presence. If Crowley had noticed, he didn’t show it.  
Sam answered for Cas, “Nashua, New Hampshire. Look, Crowley, we’re in the middle of something that’s kind of time sensitive.”  
Crowley didn’t seem bothered by Sam’s statement. “Where is Squirrel? You two are like a matching set in plaid. Usually can’t find one without the other.” He said casually as he sat down opposite Sam at the table.  
“He’s out. What do you want, Crowley?” Sam asked with a slight edge.  
Crowley folded his hands together and leaned forward on the table, “What about our little Songbird? Is she off with Squirrel? Foraging for the winter?” Crowley asked casually. Sam noticed the tone of his voice was calm but the look in his eyes was not. He couldn’t determine what it was and that made Sam uncomfortable.  
Sam squinted his eyes at the man across the table from him. He could sense Crowley was fishing. Maintaining eye contact with Crowley, he spoke to Mary, “Mom, call Dean. Tell him that he needs to get back to the room asap, please.”  
Mary rose from the bed and exited the room. Cas rounded on Crowley after the door closed, “What do you know?”  
Crowley tilted his head up to look at the angel and smirked, “I know a great many things, Wings. We could talk of shoes and ships and sealing wax. Of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling-”  
“Crowley. The Walrus and The Carpenter? Really?” Sam said exasperated with the demon’s stalling.  
Crowley shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a classic.” He rolled his shoulders and sniffed. “I get the distinct feeling that I am missing something, Moose. Is there something that maybe you should be telling me?” He looked between Cas and Sam expectantly.  
Mary walked back into the room. “I finally got Dean to answer. He’s on his way back up to the room.” She closed the door and paused when she noticed the tension in the room. She glanced at everyone in the room. “What’s going on in here?” Mary said using her mom voice.  
Crowley sat back in his chair, “Mama Winchester, it would seem that your boys and I have reached an impasse. I have some information. They have some information but no one is willing to share theirs first.”  
Mary looked skyward and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Sometimes it is really like dealing with small children.” She looked at the three of them and put her hands on her hips. “Look, this is ridiculous. Can we just play nice and share the information, please?”  
The room was silent. Everyone was eyeing each other, waiting to see who would spill first. Several tense minutes had gone by and no one had even moved. Suddenly the door to the room swung open and Dean came walking in. He was clearly not pleased and had his eyes on Mary.  
“Alright, I’m here. Now, what was so important that I had to come back now? I was enjoying a perfectly nice drink with my buddy Jack.” Dean expressed with his agitation clear in his tone. He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms. Mary indicated her head towards Crowley.  
Dean turned his head and noticed Crowley seated at the small table. “Crowley? What the hell are you doing here?”  
“Well, hello to you, Squirrel.” He rose from his seat and began to walk around the room. “I have some information that was brought to my attention earlier today. Very import information that affects one of your little ragtag group greatly.” He raised his pointer finger to the ceiling, “but before I divulge this little nugget. I have a question.”  
Cas took a step forward and eyed Crowley suspiciously, “What is that you want to know?”  
Crowley looked around the room making brief eye contact with everyone. “It’s a simple question, really.” He walked to the window and turned back to the group. “Where is the little songbird?”  
Silence filled the room. Everyone was clearly suspicious of Crowley before the question. His question had doubled their suspicions easily. Sam stood and walked to stand in front of Crowley. He studied his face. “Why do you care where Wren is right now?”  
Crowley exhaled. “I should have known this wouldn’t go easy. The information that I have affects her. So I would think it would be best if I delivered that information to her, don’t you?”  
Sam cut his eyes over Dean and they seemed to be having another silent conversation. However, Mary spoke up. “Look, she’s not here. If you just tell us, we’ll be more than happy to tell her the next time we see her.” Sam looked at his mother with wide eyes.  
“If there is a next time.” Dean muttered under his breath but Crowley caught it.  
“She’s not with you?” Crowley took a step back in shock. “I didn’t realize you were sold separately.”  
Everyone threw a look at Crowley for his last comment. He held up his hands in surrender, “Sorry, tough room. So again, I ask the question, where is Songbird?”  
“We’re not sure.” Cas said. He looked down to the floor. “We were supposed to meet this morning but she didn’t show.”  
Crowley straightened, “When is the last time you had contact with her?”  
Sam answered reluctantly, “We haven’t actually seen her since Sunday. Dean did talk to her yesterday though. Why?”  
“Oh dear, this may actually be worse than I had imagined.” Crowley said.  
Dean glared at the demon king, “What’s worse?” He quickly strode across the room and grabbed the lapels of Crowley’s jacket. “If something’s happened to her and you know about it, you had better spill.”  
“Whoa, whoa. Down boy.” Crowley extracted himself from Dean’s grip. “I didn’t do anything to her. I actually like her despite the company she chooses to keep. Which also is why I’m here in person by the way.” He dusted off his jacket.  
“Why are you here?” Mary asked with her arms folded. She was standing with her back against the wall furthest from Crowley but still close enough she could get at him if she felt she needed.  
Crowley sat back at the table again and cleared his throat, “I trust everyone here is familiar with the basics of demon contract.” Everyone shakes their heads and there’s a couple of mumbled yeses. “What about when someone tries to change the terms of a contract?”  
“You can do that?” Sam exclaimed.  
Crowley pointed to himself, “I can do that. King of Hell and all. Of course, there have been multitudes of others that have tried over the years. Usually, they fail.”  
Dean couldn’t believe what was he was hearing. He looked at Crowley in shock, “Are you saying that Wren made a demon deal and tried to change it?” He turned to Sam, “Why would she make a demon deal?”  
Sam licked his lips, “Dean, I can’t imagine Wren making a deal except to bring her sister back and I really don’t think she would do that.” He suddenly realized what Crowley had said. He stepped towards Crowley and pointed at him, “You said they usually fail.”  
Crowley smirked slightly, “Moose is right. Your missing songbird has never even attempted to make a deal, that I’m aware of anyway.” He reached inside his suit jacket and brought out the changed scroll. He held it up between his hands. It was still glowing red. “This is what happens to a contract when someone tries to change the terms in already made deal.”  
Cas furrowed his brows, “It turns red?”  
Crowley gently placed the scroll on the table but kept a hand on it. “Yes and sets off a sort of security alarm. It’s quite an efficient system. Quite frankly, it’s one of my best ideas since taking over the throne.”  
Mary kept her eyes on the scroll. She pushed off the wall and stood next to Dean. “How do you put an alarm on a demon deal?”  
Crowley chuckled, “Magic, of course. We have magical triggers for this purpose all throughout the archives. It’s a place full of demons. I’d be an idiot if I trusted them to not act like the liars, thieves and backstabbers that they are. So, I had a few witches put up some wards and sigils throughout hell for different purposes to help keep them in line.”  
Sam raised his eyebrows, “Huh, that’s actually really smart. I’m kind of surprised no one thought of that before.”  
Crowley shrugged his shoulders, “I am an innovator.”  
“We’re getting off track here.” Dean spat out. “What does anything of this have to do with Wren if she didn’t make a deal?’  
“Yes, well, that’s unfortunate bit.” Crowley sighed. He snapped his fingers and the scroll stopped glowing. He opened it on the table. He pointed to Wren’s name. “Someone has substituted her soul for payment on this deal instead of their own.”  
Everyone gathered around the scroll to look. They were silent as they stared at the name in red ink. Sam pointed at the date in red ink. “I take it red means that it was changed.”  
“Very good, Moose.”  
Dean moved his eyes to the date, “That means her soul is supposed to be collected tomorrow, right?.” Crowley nodded his head. Dean took a deep breath, “Can you change it back?”  
Crowley laughed, “Don’t be stupid. I am the King of Hell. Of course, I can.”  
Sam glared at him, “Are you going to change it back?” Everyone tensed while waiting for Crowley’s answer.  
Crowley rolled his eyes, “Do you really think that I can let this slide? Let someone get away with changing a deal? Do you realize what would happen if that got out? Hell would become infested with souls of the innocent. That’s a bloody headache that I don’t need.”  
Dean narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t answer Sam question,” he said through clenched teeth.  
Crowley blinked at Dean. “What? Oh, oh.” He waved his hand. “Yes, I’m going to bloody change it back. This-” Crowley moved his eyes back to the top of the scroll, “Robin Krieger owes me a soul, but he owes me his soul. Not someone else’s. He got what he wanted and now I’m going to collect payment.” Crowley smiled.  
Mary tapped the scroll, “I’m guessing that there was some very strong magic used to change this.” Crowley nodded in the affirmative.  
Dean groaned, “Please, not witches. I hate witches.”  
“I’m not the biggest fan of them either. But yes, I firmly believe that this is witch work.” Crowley grumbled.  
Sam furrowed his brows, “Wren came here to see her brother. Cas, do you know if this is his name?”  
“Yes, that is her older brother’s name. I don’t think he’s a witch, let alone one powerful enough to pull off this spell.” Cas said.  
“So he had to have gotten help then.” Dean surmised.  
Cas folded his arms and took a step back. “This is very powerful magic. It was done by either an entire coven or a really powerful witch on her own.”  
“You know if he had a witch helping him, that could help explain why Wren came here in the first place. It definitely explain her behavior.” Sam added.  
Dean sat on the bed and put his elbows on his knees. He stared at the scroll on the table. “Would they need her to physically be there when this spell to be done?”  
Sam picked up on Dean’s train of thought. “Crowley, how long ago was the deal changed?”  
Crowley shrugged his shoulders. “Sometime this morning. It was supposedly brought to my attention immediately, but I can’t corroborate that any longer.”  
“If they needed her there and it was done this morning, that would explain why she never showed up earlier.” Cas supplied.  
Dean closed his eyes and put his head in hands. Mary sat down next to him. “Dean? Honey?”  
He turned his head so he could see Mary. “I was so angry with her. I said some really bad things about her. Hell, to her. And now, it’s not her fault? Her douchebag of a brother and some grody witch have kidnapped her. They basically took her soul away from her, Mom.” He swallowed. “I was so quick to believe the worst about her. She’s never given us any reason to think that way, but I did.” Mary rubbed his back.  
Sam looked at his brother, “Dean, I did the same thing. I thought some pretty bad things and I’m ashamed about it.”  
Crowley sighed heavily, “Do you lot think you can save the therapy sessions for later, perhaps? I would like to collect what’s mine and take down some witches. I believe the second part will appeal to the plaid wearers in the room.” He arched a brow.  
Cas pursed his lips. “Crowley’s right. We need to take care of this quickly.”  
“Yeah, their guard will be down as long as they believe the spell worked. If Wren’s soul isn’t collected tomorrow, someone will realize something is up.”  
Dean stood up. “Fine. Let’s get moving then. We’ll need to start with the brother since he’ll be easier to find than some anonymous witches. Sammy?”  
Sam was already up and getting his laptop. “On it.”  
Mary stood up, “Dean, keys?” Dean looked at her with raised eyebrows. “I’m going to check and see what we have in the trunk since we didn’t pack for a hunt,” she said. Dean nodded his head and tossed the Impala keys over to Mary.

Crowley stood and straightened his jacket. “Well, you seem to have things under control here. I’m going to have a chat with the demon that made the deal. See if she can remember anything about this Robin character. Any useful information, yada, yada. Call me if you find him before I return.” Crowley snapped his fingers and he was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finds information on Robin and the team makes a plan for rescue. Phoebe decides that she is going to collect some parts from Wren to use for ingredients in future spells.

Chapter 12  
-Thursday, September 16, 2016-  
-Nashua, New Hampshire-

It was fairly easy to find information on Wren’s brother online. Sam was surprised how easy it had been. It seemed that her brother was a rather successful hedge fund manager . Suspiciously successful, given the economy since he had made the deal. Sam guessed that Robin had asked for career success in his deal. Crowley had taken the deal with him so Sam couldn’t check.

It had taken less than 15 minutes for Sam to find Robin’s address. It was in a very affluent neighborhood of the area apparently. Robin led a very public life. There were pictures of him at various functions. Robin had the same petite brunette on his arm in the pictures from the past year. “Guys, come take a look at this,” He called out to the others in the room. They were going over the weapons that had been in the Impala’s trunk and what Cas had in his trunk.

Mary moved to stand behind Sam and looked over his shoulder at the screen. “Is that him?” She leaned a little closer. “He and Wren do have the same coloring,” she noted.

“Yeah, that’s him alright,” Sam replied with a dark look on his face. “I noticed that about a year ago the same woman started showing up in all of the pictures with him.” He pointed to a woman that had her arm linked through Robin’s arm and smiling up at him. “It doesn’t look like he was seeing the same woman more than two or three times until she appeared.”

Dean pointed at the woman, “So the smug looking bastard suddenly found himself a steady girlfriend?” Sam nodded. Dean stared at the picture for a moment, “So we thinking she’s the witch?” 

“I think so. Name’s Phoebe Cleary apparently.” Sam read from his notes. He looked over to the weapons on the bed.“Do we have what we need for this?”

Dean looked uneasily over his shoulder at the arsenal laid out on one of the beds. “If it was anything else, we’d probably be fine. We don’t have any witch bullets. We haven’t restocked the trunk with them since that witch in Memphis.”

Crowley appeared next to the table suddenly. “Well, hello Winchesters.” He looked at Cas, “and Wings. How did your little fact finding mission turn out? I learned gads of new information.” He deadpanned.

“Really?” Mary asked with her eyebrows raised.

Crowley rolled his eyes, “No, the demon that made the deal originally has since been smote.” Crowley threw a meaningful look in Cas’s direction. Cas looked away.

“It’s fine. Apparently, Wren’s brother doesn’t shy away from the limelight. It was really easy to track him down and we think that we’ve even identified the witch that helped him.” Sam turned his laptop so that Crowley could see the pictures that Sam had found.

Crowley looked at the photos for a few moments. “My, he doesn’t, does he?” Crowley asked. “I take it that the dark haired one with him is the supposed witch.”

“Yeah, I think they actually started dating about a year ago. That’s when she first started showing up in the pictures anyway.” Sam said as he turned the computer back his way. 

Crowley cleared his throat, “Has the brain trust come up with a plan while I was gone by any chance?”

Dean sat down. “Yeah, about that. We didn’t exactly plan on hunting anything. We left the bunker in a big hurry.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We don’t have any witch bullets on us.”

“Just leave the witch to me.” Crowley growled. “I have a bone to pick with her as it is. Is that the only problem?” He looked around at the rest of the group. 

“Since Robin is only human, yeah.” Sam said as he shut his laptop and sat back in his chair. “If you’re going to handle the witch, we can handle a human. We can shift most of our focus to rescue.”

Crowley nodded his head in agreement and smiled, “Sounds like we have a plan then.” He clapped his hands together. “I think I’m actually going to enjoy this.”

 

Mary rode with Cas in his truck. She didn’t want to ride in the car with Crowley and this was the only alternative. Cas parked at the end of the street from Robin’s house. She got out of the truck and approached her sons and the demon already standing outside the car looking at a map on the hood. She looked around the surrounding neighborhood. “All of these houses are a distance from the road. That works in our favor.”

Sam glanced up at Mary, “This should be a pretty easy in and out too. Crowley pops in and subdues the witch. We wait for the signal and go in.” 

“That does seem rather simple.” Cas said. He looked down the street towards the house. “What about after?”

Dean exhaled loudly and looked down both sides of the street. “We haul ass out of here for starters.” He stood from the hood of the Impala. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we? Crowley?”

Crowley straightened the sleeves of his jacket and walked towards the trees that were just off to the side. He walked into the trees so he couldn’t be seen. Cas looked at Dean, “Where is he going? The house is the other way.” Dean held up a finger and pointed to his ear. Almost immediately, they could hear the sound of Crowley snapping his fingers.

Dean rolled his shoulders, “Now we wait for his signal.”

Everyone was surprised when Crowley came walking back out of the trees moments later. He did not look pleased.  
“That bloody witch has the place warded,” he snarled. “I couldn’t get in.”

“That’s just great.” Sam said as he folded up the map. “There’s goes that plan.”

Dean walked to the trunk and popped it open. He looked over the lid, “I’m saying it again. I hate witches.” 

Mary crossed her arms, “Now what?”

Dean looked at his mother and gave her a flat smile. “He leaves at the end of the cul de sac. One way in, one way out.” He sighed and shook his head. “I just hope he doesn’t have nosy ass neighbors.”

“Dean, I don’t think we’re going to be able to even park on the street in front of the house. That would raise too many suspicions for this neighborhood.” Sam said while looking at a map on the hood. It was their cover for being on the side of the road. 

Dean straightened and stood from the hood, “What are you suggesting?”

Sam looked unhappy, “We’ll have to go in on foot.” Dean rolled his eyes. “Look, I know. If he does have nosy neighbors, we can’t just drive up the driveway and barge into the house. The cops will be here in minutes. Minutes we don’t have.”

Mary put her hands on her hips, “Through the trees?”

“Yeah. We’ll be able to avoid detection better and come up to the back of the house so we won’t be seen from the front. It’ll limit visibility by the neighbors which is still unlikely. It’s early afternoon on a weekday but I’d like eliminate as many variables as possible. The witch has demonstrated that she’s smart putting up wards.”

Dean patted his pockets, “You got the lock picks?” Sam nodded. Dean looked at Crowley, “We’ll go in and take care of the demon ward. Once we break it, you snap in and take care of the Sabrina wannabe and the douchebag. We find Wren and get the hell out of here.”

Everyone headed for the trees. They walked slowly, sticking close to the property lines. Luckily, there was plenty of cover in the backyard. They approached the back door and Dean bent down. He held out his hand and Sam handed him the lockpicks. He opened the lock with ease. He looked at Sam and raised his eyebrows. 

Dean stood and slowly opened the door in case the hinges creaked. When it was open enough, he stuck his head through the door. He glanced around and found an empty kitchen. He continued through the door and signaled for the others to follow. Dean approached the closest door and listened. Not hearing anything, he motioned for Sam to check the door on the opposite wall. Mary walked around the kitchen island to cover Sam. 

Cas went to walk in the door but couldn’t. He whispered to Crowley who was standing next to the door, “It would seem that there are angel wards as well.”

Crowley whispered back, “Well, that’s just bloody great.”

Dean came back to the open back door, “Cas, buddy, come on. We’ve got to get Wren.”

Cas leaned in close to Dean, “I cannot. The witch must have put up angel wards along with the demon ones.”

Dean pushed Cas on the shoulder, “Cas, come on. We talked about this, personal space.” Cas pressed his lips together and took a couple of steps back. “Thank you. Okay, so we’ll add taking care of the angel wards to the to do list.” Dean stepped back into the kitchen but left the door open.

Sam nodded his head towards the open door. Dean walked over so that Sam and Mary could hear him. He explained the situation with Cas. They knew the house was three levels so they decided to split up and everyone would take a floor. 

Wren had awoken to a mostly dark room. There were still a couple of candles burning but weren’t providing very much light. She didn’t know how long she had been out.. She tried to get her arms free but she was still weak and stiff from being in an awkward position for hours. She was contemplating giving up and accepting her fate when the basement door opened. She could hear two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. 

Hope flared briefly in her chest. Maybe the Winchesters had come for her after all. The overhead lights were turned on and that hope died bitterly. Phoebe and Robin were back. Wren couldn’t help but notice how well rested Robin looked. He obviously had taken a nice long nap in his more than likely huge bed on some ridiculous thread count sheets. Wren rolled her eyes and hated the “people” in front of her a little bit more. 

Phoebe walked up to Wren. She crossed her arms and tilted her head sizing Wren up. “You know, we still need to deal with you.” Wren scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Phoebe chuckled at Wren’s expression. “You don’t really think that we’re going to keep you here until the hellhounds come for you, do you?. No, we decided that we are going to drive you over to Spaulding Park Town Forest and dump you there.” 

Wren’s eyes rounded. That forest was isolated and she wouldn’t be able to find help in time. She lowered her head. This was it. She was going to die and it was because of her shitty big brother. 

Phoebe grabbed Wren’s chin and lifted her face so she could look Wren in the eye. “I can’t have those nasty beasts making a mess down here when they come for you.” She patted Wren on the cheek hard enough to reopen the cut she had made earlier. “And they will make a mess out of your body. Luckily, that silencing charm will keep you from screaming so it’ll be a quiet death.”

“As if we would be anywhere nearby to hear the screams anyway,” Robin sneered. He put an arm around Phoebe’s shoulder and looked down his nose at Wren. 

“Well, we can’t chance taking her out there before dark. So, in the meantime…” Phoebe slipped out from under Robin’s arm and walked to a large wooden cabinet that was in a far corner. She opened the doors and looked over her shoulder at them. “I believe I will replenish some of my stock. I am woefully low on certain ingredients.” The most evil smile Wren had ever seen in her life slid onto Phoebe’s face. The malevolent look in Phoebe’s eyes combined with that smile actually made Wren shiver. Phoebe actually scared her more than Lucifer had. 

Robin walked over to Phoebe and gently grabbed her arm, “Phoebe, can we kill her? I thought the hounds have to come and collect her.”

Phoebe smiled at Robin and booped him on the nose, “Darling, I’m not going to kill her. Rest easy. I’m just going to collect some various spell ingredients from her body. Nothing life threatening.” Phoebe reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small blade. “A couple of fingernails, maybe more blood. Maybe some skin. She does have nice skin.” Phoebe grabbed Wren’s chin again and turned Wren’s head side to side. “The ears are in decent shape. Could use one of those.” Phoebe muttered, talking more to herself than anyone else.

“Well, I’m not sticking around for that. You know that I’ll get queasy. I’m going back upstairs.” Robin walked up the stairs and closed the basement door behind him.

“It looks like it’s just us girls.” Phoebe said. She grabbed a bowl and put it next to Wren’s feet. “It’ll be easier to just put everything in there now and sort the parts later.” Her casual tone made Wren wonder how many times she had done this.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phoebe begins her harvest of Wren. The team arrives at Robin's house and confronts him about Wren's whereabouts. Wren is rescued and Crowley fixes the deal.

-Thursday, September 16, 2016-  
-Basement-

Wren knew that she needed to assess her situation. She had two major problems right now. The first and certainly the biggest was the hellhounds. She knew there was no way she was going to get away from the hellhounds. That was inevitable. She would never be able to hide from them. They would find her no matter where she went. Acceptance was a bitch.

The second problem, however, was more immediate. Phoebe was going to harvest her for spell ingredients before leaving her out in the woods. Wren was aware of the futility of grieving the body parts that Phoebe planned to take. She wouldn’t necessarily need them where she was going and that thought made her angry. Wren was going to go to hell and her brother would continue to get to live his sorry existence on this plane. And that was Phoebe’s doing. 

Wren narrowed her eyes at the witch and found herself firmly in the ‘I hate witches’ camp. She promised herself right then that she was going to be make this process difficult for Phoebe any way that she could. Unfortunately for Wren, her options for making that happen were severely limited since she was bound to a chair. 

Phoebe approached Wren with sharp blade and an evil glint in her eye. She ran the tip of the blade down Wren’s arm with light pressure. When the knife reached her wrist, Wren started to thrash around as much as she could in the restraints which wasn’t much.

A muscle in Phoebe’s jaw ticked. She pursed her lips and backhanded Wren across her face hard. Wren hadn’t been expecting the hit so she wasn’t prepared to absorb the blow. Wren’s head was swimming and she swore she could see stars. Phoebe had decided to start while Wren still in a daze. Wren felt pressure underneath one of her fingernails. She held her breath in anticipation of what was to come. It didn’t help. Wren opened her mouth and tried to scream, but thanks to Phoebe’s charm, nothing came out. “Let’s not let that blood go to waste.” Phoebe hurriedly grabbed another bowl. She placed it on the floor so the blood dripping from Wren’s finger would fall into the bowl. 

-Kitchen-

Sam was just about to enter the dining room when he heard the muffled sound of a door closing. He whipped his head to look at his mother and brother. They were standing next to a closed door and had heard the noise as well. Dean put a finger to his lips to indicate to the others to be silent. He pulled his gun from his waistband and walked a couple of steps back from the door so he wouldn’t be hit by the door if it was opened into the kitchen. Mary flattened herself on the wall next to the door with her gun already in her hands. Her eyes were fixed on the door. 

They could faintly hear footsteps coming down the hall towards them. The footsteps seemed to stop right outside the door. Everyone inside the kitchen tensed and kept their eyes on the door. Mary silently slid a little further away from the door and aimed her gun at the door. The door slowly swung open.

Robin Krieger pushed through the swinging door with one hand and his head was looking down at the cell phone in the other. He didn’t notice the hunters in his kitchen since his attention was focused on his phone. He walked to the middle of the kitchen past all of the armed hunters to stand in front of the kitchen island. He didn’t put his phone down until he noticed that the door to the outside was open.

With a heavy sigh, he walked to the door intending to close it. However, as soon as he put his hand on the door, he felt a gun against the back of his head. Robin froze. 

The Winchesters had recognized Robin instantly thanks to the pictures that Sam had found during his research. The fact that Robin had walked past all of them and never noticed them surprised all of them. They didn’t understand how someone could be so oblivious to their surroundings. Sam decided to take advantage of Robin’s inattentiveness. He made it across the kitchen to Robin first. He resisted the urge to pummel the man into the ground and instead placed his gun against Robin’s head.

Robin raised both of his hands and slowly turned to face Sam. He swallowed when he noticed that three people were in his kitchen. “Look, if you’re after money, I don’t have my wallet on me. Let me go upstairs and I’ll give you all of the cash that I have. I won’t call the cops either, I swear.”

Dean rolled his eyes and lowered his gun. He looked over at Mary, “Mom?”

“Go ahead. I’ll keep this door covered,” she returned her attention to the door that Robin had come through. 

Dean strode across the room quickly and stood next to Sam, “We’re not here to steal your money, douchebag. We’re here to collect something that you stole from us actually.”

Robin’s face contorted in confusion and then to anger. He looked back and forth between the brothers. “What? Are you crazy? I didn’t steal anything from you. I’ve never even seen any of you before in my life.” 

Sam smirked and nodded his head. “Yes, you did steal from us.” He moved his gun to point at Robin’s chest. 

Robin took a small step back towards the open doorway behind him, “What could you possibly have that I would want to steal?” He replied snidely.

The brothers glanced at each other as Robin took another small step back. They could tell what he was thinking. One more step and he would be out the door. Dean shook his head at Robin, “I wouldn’t go out there if I were you.” 

Robin lifted his foot intending to take the next step to his freedom and paused. His bravado kicked in and he scoffed at the brothers, “Oh, really? Why is that? You going to shoot me if I run?” Dean simply pointed over Robin’s shoulder. 

Robin turned his head to see a man dressed in a black suit standing just outside the doorway. The man had his hands in his pockets and lifted his eyebrows. “Oh, please. Do come outside. We have a great many things to discuss, you and I. Business and personal,” Crowley said in a low voice. He inclined his head towards Castiel, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a word or two with you either.” 

Castiel narrowed his eyes to slits and crossed his arms across his chest, “Oh, I do not wish to use words. I would prefer to smite him.”

“Who the hell are you people? Do you know who I am?” Robin demanded. He thought he was surrounded by crazy people. His eyes were flitting between the people inside his kitchen and standing on his back patio.

Sam, however, had reached his breaking point. He grabbed Robin by his shirt collar and pushed him against the wall near the door. He put his thick forearm against Robin’s neck ensuring that Robin couldn’t get away. He leaned in and put his face mere inches away from Robin’s own face. He was staring into Robin’s eyes so that Robin could see the anger in his eyes.

“My, my. The moose is angry,” Crowley smirked from outside. He looked over at Cas, but the angel had pursed his lips together and his eyes had remained on Robin.

“Stuff it, Crowley,” Dean growled towards the open door. He cracked his neck and honed in on Robin. “Where is Wren?” 

Robin tore his eyes from Sam’s stare and looked at Dean, “Who?” No one was fooled by the feigned innocence and Sam applied a little more pressure to Robin’s windpipe causing him to choke slightly. His face began to turn a slight shade of red and slapped at Sam’s arm. “Alright, alright,” he choked out.

Sam eased his arm off enough to allow Robin to breathe. Robin made a show of coughing and trying to catch his breath. It just shortened Sam’s patience with the man,“My brother asked you a question,” he said, his teeth clenched tight.

Robin tried to clear his throat which he found difficult with Sam’s arm. “Wren left town years ago. She doesn’t bother to keep in touch. She could be anywhere right now. Whatever trouble my sister has gotten herself into doesn’t involve me,” he spat out at the brothers. His face showed his feelings of superiority and disgust towards his sibling. It did nothing but irritate everyone else who saw it.

Dean stepped even closer ensuring that Robin had no sense of personal space left, “That’s where you’re wrong.” He shoved his finger forcefully into Robin’s chest which made him wince from discomfort and pain. This pleased Dean, “She’s family to us. You are the source of the trouble and we’re here to remedy that situation.”

Crowley was growing impatient, “Enough talking, Squirrel.” Crowley snapped. Dean grunted at him. “Find out where Songbird is and get rid of the damnable wards.” Robin’s face betrayed him when Crowley mentioned the wards. A look of shock flitted across his face for a second but it didn’t go unnoticed by Sam.

Sam narrowed his eyes at Robin, “Oh, look. I think we finally have someone’s attention.”Sam pulled Robin off the wall and into the dining room. He shoved Robin into a chair and leaned in close, “Stay. Put.”

Dean had followed Sam and pulled out a chair to sit in front of Robin. He stared at Robin, but kept silent. Robin started to squirm after only a few moments. Dean lifted his eyebrows at Robin’s movements, “What’s the matter? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Robin instantly stilled and placed a mask of boredom on his face. He then looked Dean in the eyes, “Hardly.”

However, Dean wasn’t fooled by Robin, “That’s good because I’m the least of your worries.” Robin maintaining the facade raised his eyebrows. Dean jerked his thumb towards the open door in the kitchen, “That guy over there in the black?”

Robin glanced over to the open doorway quickly, “What about him?”

Dean leaned his elbow on his left knee and spoke in a loud whisper, “He knows about your deal and what you did today. He is NOT your biggest fan right now. So, if you don’t want us to throw you outside right now so he can be the one to ask you questions his way which will be not be pleasant, I’d start talking.” Dean clamped his hand down on Robin’s shoulder and squeezed hard making Robin grimace. 

Robin moved eyes between Dean and Crowley and licked his lips. He didn’t know how they could know about the deal he had made nine years nor what Phoebe had done for him. He thought for a few moments and decided to take his chances with Dean. “She’s downstairs in the basement.” He was secretly counting on Phoebe being able to take care of the intruders and didn’t want to tip his hand. He didn’t know what she would do to them but he knew she definitely had the power to take care of them. 

Dean leaned forward and tightened his eyes, “She’d better be.” He abruptly stood up from the chair. He grabbed Robin’s arm and yanked him from his own chair. Dean started pulling him towards Crowley and the open door. Robin started to fight him. 

“Hey! You said if I talked, you wouldn’t throw me outside to him.” He was desperately trying to get out of Dean’s grip. He was thrashing around, but there was no way Dean was going to let go. He resorted to begging, “Come on, man.”

Dean stopped just short of the door and pulled Robin in close. “Oh, stop whining. You are going to stay right here while my brother and I go looking for our friend. If you move from this spot, my mother will shove you outside. The demon and angel standing right there would love to get their hands on you for sure.” 

“D-demon? Angel?” Robin looked at the two beings standing outside and swallowed, He hadn’t expected an actual demon to be standing there. He understood now why Phoebe has insisted on putting all those weird drawings on the walls. They were keeping the demon in front of him out of his house. Crowley smiled a little and waved his fingers at Robin. 

Mary moved to stand next to Sam. “I’ve got him. Go find her.” Sam patted Mary’s shoulder. Dean threw one last glare at Robin before he and Sam left the room.

Once the door swung closed behind the brothers, Mary concentrated her gaze on Robin. “You hurt someone I care about.” Robin looked her over and scoffed dismissing her as a threat. He wasn’t worried about her. He was worried about the demon outside his door. That was enough for Mary. She planted her feet and pulled her right fist back. Before he had time to react, Mary’s fist connected with his jaw. Robin crumpled to the ground. Mary couldn’t help the broad smile that came across her face.

Robin sat up from the floor holding his jaw. “You punched me!” He grabbed the edge of the counter and pulled himself up to stand.

“Sure did. Now, if you so much as breathe wrong, I will shoot you somewhere that’s not vital to your sorry existence.” She cocked her gun.. “Then throw you outside.” Robin’s hand tightened on the counter and looked outside again.

Crowley snickered, “Remind me to not underestimate Mama Winchester.” He looked over at Cas who was staring inside with his mouth agape. Crowley rolled his eyes at the angel, “You’re going to attract flies like that.”

-Hall-

Sam and Dean stood in the hall outside the kitchen door. The hall stretched left and right from where they stood. There were several doors in both directions. “Which way do you think we need to go?” Sam asked Dean.

Dean looked to his left and pointed, “It sounded like he came from this way earlier.” Dean headed down to the nearest door and opened it slowly peering inside. He pulled his head out and indicated no with his head. 

“We should have made him tell us where the basement is. This house isn’t exactly small,” Sam murmured as he went to the door across the hall. 

“Yeah, yeah, Sammy,” Dean said from the next door he was checking. “Less talky, more looky.” Sam made a bitch face at Dean but continued to check the doors in the hallway.

-Basement-

Wren had lost track of time. She didn’t know if Phoebe had been at it for minutes or hours. It had felt like an eternity to her. She had tears streaming down her face and she was in a great deal of pain. Phoebe clearly didn’t care how much pain she was inflicting on Wren. Phoebe had removed patches of skin from her arms and clipped some of her hair. Phoebe had gotten what she wanted no matter how much Wren had tried to twist and turn away from the blade. In fact, some of Wren’s movements had caused Phoebe to slip a few times while trying to collect her samples. Phoebe had gotten frustrated at one point and thrust her knife into Wren’s thigh twisting the blade a few times.

Phoebe wiped the blade of her knife off on a rag. She had somehow managed to not get any of Wren’s blood on her clothing, “I must say that you have been such a good sport about this, Wren. You haven’t complained once.” Phoebe cackled at her own joke. “I’m almost done.” Phoebe traced the outer shell of Wren’s right ear. 

Footsteps came down the stairs. “Robin, darling, I’m almost done. Just have to get the last piece and I can clean up.” Phoebe said without looking behind her. 

Dean could see that Wren was tied to the chair in the center of the room. He had to fight to keep himself from running across the room to her. He had to deal with the brunette that was bent over Wren first. He walked behind the witch at casual pace. He didn’t want to want to alert her that he wasn’t who she was expecting. He was a couple of steps behind her when she stood up. He froze.

Phoebe grabbed Wren’s earlobe and slowly began to slice upwards. Wren tried to move her head away. Phoebe straightened and looked into Wren’s eyes and smiled. “Hold still, dear. If you make me mess this one up, I’ll just have to take the other.” She held up a blade and Dean could see red on the blade. 

Wren kept her eyes on Phoebe. Wren knew it didn’t matter if she lost both ears so Phoebe’s threat was meaningless. Wren watched as Phoebe crumpled to the floor suddenly. She moved her eyes from the body on the floor to the person standing in front of her. She would have sworn she was hallucinating, but it looked like Dean Winchester was standing in front of her. Wren didn’t think she had ever seen Dean so angry. 

“Sammy!” Dean bellowed. He hadn’t held anything back when he had hit the witch over the head. He was sure she would be out for a few minutes. He had glanced at Wren’s open wounds on her arms. He couldn’t bring himself to get a good look at them. “Get down here. Take care of her, I’ve got to take care of those wards.” Dean moved to the walls and began inspecting the many sigils on the walls. He was mentally kicking himself for not getting to her sooner. 

Sam had been waiting at the top of the stairs. He came barreling down when Dean called him. He ran straight to Wren and grabbed her face. “Wren? Look at me.” Wren took her eyes from Dean to Sam. She mouthed the word ‘Sam’ and Sam’s face fell. 

“Wren, what’s wrong? Why can’t you talk?” Sam asked. He began examining Wren’s neck for signs of damage. A cut, a bruise, something. He couldn’t find anything except a thin line of blood coming from one of her earlobes. Wren moved her arms around and nodded her head towards her arm restraints. Sam looked down and grimaced when he noticed the conditions of her arms and hands. The witch had really done a number on her.

As Sam was carefully cutting her second arm loose, Dean called out, “Give her the knife so she can cut her legs loose. Help me look for the wards. That crazy witch has this damn room covered in freaking symbols.”

Sam started to protest, but Wren shook her head and made a grabbing motion with her hand for his knife. “Wha- Are you sure?”, He asked her. She kept her head down with her hand still up. He thinned his lips but handed his knife over to her. 

She gripped the knife as tightly as she could manage since several of her fingers were tender. She slowly bent over and started to work on the ties around her ankles. Unfortunately, this caused fresh blood start falling down her arms and fingers. She was having a hard time maintaining the grip on the knife. The knife slipped once and sliced her leg. She grimaced and put her head down on the arm of the chair. She wanted out of the chair but her haste was causing her to make mistakes. 

Sam was running his eyes across the second wall. He found the next set of wards that needed to be destroyed. He broke the lines making the ward ineffective. He turned to look at Dean. He found his brother standing across the room. Dean was making fists and looking at Wren. Dean had a guilty look and he grimaced watching her move. He caught Sam looking at him and quickly turned back to the wall.

Sam sighed and tried not to worry about his elder brother. He knew Dean well enough to know that the look he observed on Dean’s face was his guilt. Sam couldn’t blame him as he was feeling the same way. They both looked at Wren like a little sister and her current state meant that they had failed her. Any lingering questions Sam had about Wren were forgotten when he had first seen her injuries. 

He looked at Wren again and couldn’t miss how exhausted she looked. He took the slowness of her movements and her struggle to hold on to the knife he had given her. There was a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked and Phoebe was beginning to stir. He rushed over to her knowing they needed to keep her from casting any spells at them. 

Phoebe sat up and saw the large man coming at her. Sam reached the witch and tried to restrain before she could do any magic against the hunters. Phoebe struggled against Sam’s attempts. “Mynd i ffwrdd oddi wrthyf,” she screamed as she flung her arm out at Sam. Her spell caused Sam to be flung back against a wall. 

“Sammy!,” Dean roared. He was about to run to Sam when Sam rose to his feet. He had an arm wrapped around him holding his ribs. 

Sam raised a hand, “No, Dean. Keep looking so Crowley can get in here.” Dean was about to argue with him when Sam cut him off. “Just do it, Dean.” Sam started towards Phoebe again just a little slower this time. That gave Phoebe time to be ready which is what Sam wanted. He wanted to keep her attention on him so Dean would be able to break the last of the demon wards. He just hoped Dean worked fast.

Sam was tossed by Phoebe just once more before Dean found the last sigil. He scratched and broke the lines of the last ward holding Crowley outside. “I got it, Sammy!” Dean yelled at his little brother triumphantly.

-Kitchen-

Robin had been so worried about Mary shooting him that he had been keeping his attention solely on her. He wasn’t aware of that Crowley had kept his eyes fixed on him the entire time. Because of this, he didn’t see Crowley take a step across the threshold. 

Crowley walked up beside Robin and tilted his head to the left. “Boo.” Robin jumped and shrieked. Crowley started to advance on him like a predator.

“Crowley!” Cas shouted at the demon, “Sam and Dean are waiting for you.” 

Crowley stopped walking and cut his eyes over to the angel, “Killjoy. Just make sure you bring him downstairs.” Crowley snapped his fingers and was gone from the kitchen.

-Basement-

Crowley had snapped himself into the basement right next to Dean. “About bloody time,” he snarled to Dean. 

Dean turned on Crowley, “We went as fast as we could.” He stuck out his hand to show Crowley the scene playing out across the room. Just as Crowley looked over, Phoebe threw another spell at Sam that froze his feet to the ground.

Crowley sighed heavily and gestured at Dean, “I honestly don’t understand how you lot are still alive.” Crowley barely glanced over at Phoebe and snapped his fingers. Phoebe dropped like a stone to the floor unconscious.

Sam walked over and stood over her. He looked at Crowley, “What did you do to her? Not that I’m complaining.”

Crowley sniffed, “Simply sedated her. She won’t wake up until I want her to.” He started walking around the room taking in the walls and looking at the items on the table that Phoebe had been using. It was covered with bowls holding Phoebe’s ‘harvest’ from Wren. A look of disdain washed over his face and he snapped his fingers. The contents of the bowls burst into flames, “Can’t leave that lying around now, can we?”

“Crowley, you have a seriously scary bag of tricks,” Dean commented as he walked over to stand beside Sam. He looked down on Phoebe and nudged her leg with his foot. He was satisfied when she didn’t move. He looked up at Sam, “Come on, Sammy. Let’s finish this.”

Crowley was standing over Phoebe’s body. He glanced down and sneered at her, “Oh, I have just the place for you.”

The boys went over the last wall again looking for the last sigil that was keeping Cas out of the house. Sam found and broke the last sigil that had designed for angels. It was only a matter of seconds before there was a clatter at the top of the stairs leading into the basement. Cas was dragging Robin haphazardly down the stairs by his shirt collar and Mary had her gun pointed on Robin as they walked down which explained why Robin came down so quietly.

Cas dumped Robin in front of Crowley and ran over to Wren. He kneeled in front of her and took her face in his hands, “Wren?” His eyes looked her over and he paled. He grew sad when he saw the damage that Wren had gone through. He gently took the knife from her hands and finished releasing Wren from the chair.

When Cas cut the last strap releasing Wren’s ankle, Wren leaned forward and wrapped her arms carefully around his shoulders. She pulled away after a long moment. She smiled at the angel and pulled a cord that was hanging from her neck out of her shirt. 

Cas saw the hex bag on the end of the cord. He immediately grabbed the cord and cut through it freeing it from around Wren’s neck. She slumped against the chair in relief. Cas threw the bag over to Dean.

Dean took one look at the bag and made a face. He held the bag away from himself and reached inside his jacket. He pulled out his lighter and lit the bag on fire. “Man, I hate witches,” he dropped the bag on the floor and watched it burn. He heard Cas make a noise and looked over.

As soon as Wren felt herself freed from the charm in the bag, she had thrown her arms carefully around Cas’s neck. “Thank you,” she said in his ear. He could barely hear her. Her voice was low and rough sounding. He squeezed her again briefly trying to be careful of her injuries. 

He pulled back from her and moved his hands to her shoulders, “Feeling better now?” 

She grinned and nodded her head. “Yes,” she said softly to her best friend. She looked around Cas to peer at Crowley then down to her brother. She narrowed her eyes at him. “You. You miserable, conniving, sorry excuse for a human being,” she said hoarsely to Robin. He refused to even look at her. He kept his eyes on the floor. 

Crowley put a hand on Wren’s shoulder. She looked up at him. “Songbird, don’t you worry about him. He’s still got a spot reserved down in Hell.”

“What? No! You can’t do that! Phoebe changed it. Wren is supposed to go down there, not me!” Robin yelled from his spot on the floor. “The deal was changed! The hounds are supposed to be coming for her, not me!” He pointed at Wren. 

Dean flew over to Robin and hauled him off the floor, “What did you say?” Dean was breathing heavily and his hands were fisted in Robin’s shirt. Robin wisely kept his mouth shut. 

Crowley put his hand on Dean’s shoulder, “Calm down, Squirrel.” He looked at Crowley and saw the malicious glint in his eyes. That was enough to satisfy Dean that this was not going to end well for Robin. Dean removed his clenched fists from Robin's shirt and shoved him away.

Crowley turned the full weight of his gaze on Robin. “For your information, moron, I can do that.” He pointed at his chest and smirked, “I am the King of Hell. I can do a lot of things that you would never dream of in your absolute worst nightmares.”

“Crowley?” Wren stood up with Cas’s help and held onto his arm for support. “Crowley, please. He’s my brother.” Everyone’s heads turned to towards her. Shock clearly written on everyone’s face. 

“You can’t be serious? After what he did?” Sam questioned. He couldn’t believe that she was going to defend him after everything he had done. 

Wren held up her hand. “Please, Sam,” she cleared her throat. “After seeing Sam and Dean’s relationship, it became very clear to me. Robin hasn’t done anything for me except put me down and relish in my misery. After Lark-” she paused for a moment and closed her eyes. “After Lark passed, I secretly hoped that Robin and I would become closer. I was grieving the loss of my twin and was foolish. He has demonstrated throughout the entirety of my life that he is just too much like our parents."

She closed her eyes again and leaned slightly more on Cas, “Sam and Dean remind me how siblings should be. How things were with Lark. The love and the sacrifices they make for family because of that love. They do it without thought. No ulterior motives." She opened her eyes and looked ever so briefly at the brothers standing off to the side of the room. She swung her gaze gaze back to Robin. 

"They do that for anyone they consider family. I was lucky enough to be included in that before you did this to me. I broke something precious because of you." Wren spoke softly. She hurt from her various injuries as well as the emotional blow she had been dealt. She was exhausted and just wanted to get away from the man who had been despicable to her the entirety of her life. 

"Crowley, I have a favor to ask,” she turned slightly to look at Crowley and away from Robin. She didn’t want to look at her brother ever again. Crowley looked at her in anticipation. He noticed a hardness come into her eyes, “Make sure he hurts in every way possible." 

Crowley smiled, "For you, Songbird, I'll give you that free of charge. No deal necessary.” His eyes flashed red and Robin turned white as sheet and terror came across his face. “I am, in fact, going to change the deal back to its original state except for one thing." 

"Thank you,” Wren smiled at the king. She tightened her hold on the angel’s arm, "Cas, can we get out of this room, please? I've been down here long enough." 

"Um, sure, yeah. Let's go upstairs." Cas began to guide her out of the room. He looked over his shoulder at the brothers as he approached the stairs. They were staring at Wren’s back as she moved away from them both wearing expressions of concern laced lightly with guilt. Mary squeezed Wren’s arm when she went by and gave her a small smile. Wren gave her a small smile in return.

Wren stopped at the bottom of the stairs. One hand on the rail and the other on Castiel’s arm. “Hold on, Cas.” She turned to face the others in the room. “I really appreciate what all of you did for me. I really do.” She turned around and started back up the stairs again with the angel’s assistance.

Mary waited until Wren and Cas had left the basement. “What’s the one thing?” she asked keeping her eyes on Robin. She didn’t want to let him out of her sight until she knew for certain that Wren was safe and wouldn’t pay the price for the backhanded dealings of her brother and his witch.

Sam broke his eyes away from the top of the stairs no longer able to see Wren or Cas, “What one thing, Mom?” He looked at her in confusion. Crowley’s phrasing had slipped by Sam since the majority of his attention had been on watching one of his closest friends struggle. It had killed a small part of him that he had even doubted her after hearing her speech to her own brother.

Mary crossed her arms. “He said that he was going to change the deal back except for one thing. Crowley, what’s the one thing?”

Crowley chuckled, “Oh that. It’s nothing really. I’m just changing the deal back for the collection of the soul of Robin Krieger here.”

Dean narrowed his eyes and glared at Robin menacingly. “Good,” Dean growled.

“But,” Crowley held up a finger in the air, “I am NOT going to be changing the collection date.” He stepped ever closer to Robin. “I am going to honor the new date set forth by your witch’s dealings, you insipid moron. You and your little occultist over there are going to serve as an example. A warning. A cautionary tale. A sort of public service announcement.” He walked around Robin’s back and leaned in close. “Your torture will be put on display for all to see. My demons will warn all new prospective clients what will happen to anyone who tries to go back on a deal made under my reign.”

He circled around to Robin’s front eyes glowing red once again, “They will be able to provide excruciating details of the pain and suffering that you both are facing. The torture will be nonstop. My floors will run red with your blood and my halls will echo with the cries of your suffering. I frankly couldn’t be happier about it.”

The room was silent. The Winchesters had known Crowley was upset, but they hadn’t realized how upset until now. Mary was the first to speak. “Well. That sounds, uh, appropriate and I, for one, don’t want to hold that up at all.” 

Sam spoke up next, “But what, wasn’t the new date changed to tomorrow?”

Crowley waved his hand, “Yes, minor detail.” He snapped his fingers and Robin fell to the floor unconscious like he was a rag doll. “They’re not going anywhere. I’ll stay here and deal with this mess. The Plaid Squad can reunite and help her recuperate. Let her know that I’ll be popping by to check on her,” Crowley said and turned his back to the hunters.

Realizing they had essentially been dismissed and trusting that Crowley was going to follow through on his word to deal with the unconscious pair on the floor, the Winchesters ascended the stairs. They entered the hallway on the main floor. Mary turned her head to the left. She spotted Wren and Cas moving to the front door. She turned towards them and almost ran down the hall. The brothers were taken by surprise by their mother’s quick departure until they saw her destination. 

Mary caught up just as they had reached the entry way. With a look of concern on her face, she opened the door for them and followed them out to the driveway. Sam and Dean were right behind them. “Guys, we can’t let her walk down the street looking like that,” Sam said.

Cas stopped and looked back at Sam. He sighed, “You’re right. It’s not quite dark yet. Someone will be sure to call the authorities if they see a bloody woman walking down the street.” Wren looked up at Cas and he could the exhaustion in her eyes. He gave her a thin smile, “I don’t believe that you would make the walk without collapsing either. You seem to be suffering from extreme blood loss among other issues.”

Mary walked around and briefly inspected Wren’s condition. She looked at Sam and Dean over Cas’s shoulder. “You two head down to the end of the street and get the vehicles. Wren, sweetie, you’re going to go in the Impala.” Wren opened her mouth to protest but Mary cut her off. “You need to lie down and the Impala is the only once that you can do that.”

Wren lowered her eyes and nodded. She was sure that Sam and Dean were still angry and didn’t want to be anywhere near her, especially Dean. They hadn’t really interacted with her a great deal since they had arrived. Granted they hadn’t shown up for high tea but they hadn’t really spoken to her very much. She knew that it was pointless to argue with Mary though so she just agreed with her, “Alright.”

Mary looked back at the boys and noticed that they hadn’t moved. She jerked her head towards the road, “Move.” That seemed to snap them out of their daze and they hurried away.

Wren cleared her throat, “I need to get my bag from inside, please.” It seemed silly but it would be a small comfort for her. 

“No, no. I’ll get it. Where is it, sweetie?” Mary asked. Wren heard the rumble of the Impala coming down the street. They all looked but couldn’t see it quite yet. “Wren, we have to hurry. Please, if you want the bag, you’ll have to tell me where it is.”

Wren bit her lip and looked back at the house. “The last time that I had it, I had placed it beside the door so I could just grab it as I was leaving.” Mary smiled at her and headed back towards the house.

Dean had made sure to drive up the street at a normal speed not wanting to attract extra attention. Sam was behind him driving Cas’s truck. They pulled to a stop in the circular drive behind the little red convertible that Wren had driven up to the house. Dean got out of the car and stood behind the convertible. He was giving the car a dirty look as if it had offended him, “When we get you back to Kansas, I am personally going to take you apart and melt the pieces down.”

Sam was standing with his door open, “Damn, Dean. What did that little car ever do to you?” 

Dean stiffened. He didn’t realize Sam could hear him. He turned to look at his little brother and then back at the car. “It knows what it did.” 

Mary came back with Wren’s bag in her hand and handed it to Sam, “Take this. Let’s get her in the car and get out of here.” Cas helped Wren into the back seat of the Impala making sure she was comfortable as she could be. Dean had to shoo him away so they could leave.

-Friday, September 17, 2016 12:01 am-

Crowley was standing in Robin Krieger’s basement looking at his watch. He had spent the last couple of hours ensuring that Robin & Phoebe’s new place was ready and waiting for the arrival. Once the preparations had met his satisfaction, he had summoned two of his best hound keepers to the throne room. He had told them to fetch four of the surliest and nastiest hounds they had. The keepers were now flanking Crowley with a hound in each hand. When they had been told what the unconscious couple had tried to do, they had gladly followed Crowley’s order. 

Crowley smiled like a Cheshire cat and snapped his fingers. Phoebe had been the first to move. She rolled to her side and lifted her head. The hounds began to get excited and growl when they noticed her movement. She scrambled backwards bumping into Robin when she saw the three strange men. She looked around the room for the source of the growls. She reached behind her and started to shake Robin. 

Robin was slow to move. Unlike Phoebe, he knew that a demon had made into the house and had undone her spell. He stood and helped Phoebe to stand beside him. Phoebe had been trying to talk to Robin. She had been trying cast against the intruders but nothing was coming out of her mouth. She grabbed Robin’s arm and kept trying to ask him what was going on. He just shook his head at her. All of the movement only excited the hounds more. They had begun to bark and even howl a little. 

Robin and Phoebe had backed up until they were against the far wall. Crowley was enjoying the spectacle immensely. Phoebe was confused as to why she couldn’t talk and where the awful dog sounds were coming from. Robin was of no help. He kept most of attention on the men across. Phoebe didn’t recognize any of them. The two men that had been in the basement earlier were not here anymore. She was confused and couldn’t ask any questions. 

Crowley watched with satisfaction as the witch started to panic, “As you may noticed, I decided to give you a small taste of your own medicine. You know have your very own silencing charm just like the one you gave to his sister but with a slight twist.” Phoebe began to search her clothes so she could remove the hex bag. “You won’t find it by the way. That’s your twist. Yours will have to be cut out which it will be during your first session. After all, I can’t revel in your screams if they can’t be heard, can I?” Phoebe gripped Robin’s arm tighter as all of the demons in the room let their eyes change.

Crowley rubbed his hands together and said the command he had been waiting to say for hours, “Release.” The room soon erupted into screams.

Dean was driving the Impala with Sam riding shotgun and Wren was curled up in the back seat asleep. Mary was following them in the little red convertible and Cas behind her in his truck. Crowley had sent a text around 1 am that simply stated, “Business handled.”

Dean & Sam kept looking at Wren in the back seat. She hadn’t moved since they placed her there hours ago. She had been asleep more than 8 hours. Even though Cas had said she was sleeping due to exhaustion and stress, they were still worried. Mary called Sam and asked about pulling over for the night. She was driving by herself and was worried about falling asleep behind the wheel. As much as Dean wanted to drive straight through, he wasn’t going to make anyone risk getting into an accident. They pulled into a motel and Dean had gone inside to get them rooms.

Sam woke Wren up and helped her out of the car. Everyone was standing next to the Impala waiting when Dean approached with room keys. “They only have two rooms right now but both have double beds,” Dean smiled. 

Mary snatched one of the keys out of his hand. “That’ll work for me,” she said clearly exhausted and went to get her things. “Wren, come on. You can finally get cleaned up properly inside and get some proper bandages on those wounds.”

“And food. She needs something to eat,” Sam said. “I’ll run out and get something. What are you in the mood for?” He looked at Wren with eyebrows raised.

She shook her head, “No, you all are so tired. You should get some sleep. I’ll take care of my bandages and I’m not really that hungry.”

Dean looked straight at her, “Wren.” The look on his face let her know that her protests would do no good. 

Her shoulders slumped and she sighed, “Fine.” She turned to get her things out of the car when she saw that Sam already given the bag to Cas.

Cas hoisted the straps of the bag onto his shoulder. “I will be carrying this for you. You should not be exerting yourself unnecessarily until you have healed more,” the angel said to her. 

Wren smiled at him, “You know, I think every girl should get an angel for a best friend.” Cas smiled back at her.

It had taken a couple of hours for everyone to shower, eat, and administer Wren’s bandages before they all went to sleep. During that time, they had also talked about what had happened. Wren finally explained to the Winchesters about her childhood. Needless to say, Dean had stated more than once that he wished he had clocked Robin when he had the opportunity. Mary eventually told him that she, in fact, did punch Robin in the kitchen. Dean grumbled that he still wished he had done it. Conversation finally wound down and the brothers had gone to their own room. Mary had collapsed into the bed against the far wall. Cas sat on the bed next to Wren as she slept between her and the door.

Wren only slept for three more hours. She awoke to the sky turning pink from the approaching sunrise. Cas was sitting at the table beside the window with the curtains partially open. When he heard Wren get up, he turned to her and bid her good morning.

“Good morning to you, too,” she said. She stretch her arms cautiously and lightly flexed the fingers that had wrappings on their ends. “Cas, will you take a walk with me?” she asked quietly so she wouldn’t wake Mary on the other side of the room.

He looked at her with concern in his eyes, “Are you sure you are feeling up to that? You did not sleep very long.”

Wren chuckled softly and placed her unbandaged hand on his shoulder, “Cas, I slept the entire trip here and a few more hours just now. I think I got enough sleep for right now. I spent almost the entire day yesterday strapped to a chair. I would like to move around a little, that’s all.”

“You are right. I am sorry. Yes, by all means. If you wish to walk, then we shall walk,” Cas rose from his chair. “I feel that we should also leave a note to let the others know so they will not worry due to our absence.”

“Of course, Castiel. That is a wonderful idea,” Wren agreed. “Will you take care of that while I change, please?”

Cas nodded his head, “Yes.” Wren grabbed a change of clothing while Cas looked for paper and a pen to write the note. 

Cas finished the short note to the Winchesters as Wren exited the bathroom. “There are some woods on the other side of the parking lot. Would you like to take a walk there?” he asked as she put her sweater on.

She put her arm in his, “That sounds perfect actually.” The pair walked out and shut the door quietly behind them.

They walked the woods in companionable silence until Wren’s stomach had rumbled. Cas suggested they return to the room and see if the others had woken up yet. She agreed. They came back to the parking lot to find Dean under the hood of the Impala.

“Dean, is everything okay with Baby?” Wren asked as she and Cas approached the hunter.

He wiped his hands on a rag, “Yeah, just checking her over. I pushed her kinda hard the last couple of days.” He took a sip from the coffee cup he had sitting on the bumper. 

Wren pursed her lips and looked down at the car. “I’m sorry, Baby.” She stroked her finger lightly following the car’s sleek lines from front to back. She stopped when she reached the back bumper. She turned and looked at Dean with tears in her eyes, “I am so, so, sorry.”

Dean thrust the rag in his back pocket and walked over to Wren. He put his hands on her shoulders, “Hey, hey. No. That was not your fault. We know that. You were under a compulsion spell by a really old and powerful witch. How could you possibly know what that douchebag was up to?”

Wren took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “I know you’re right. I really do. I still feel guilty, Dean. I can’t help but think about the what if’s? What if I had I told you guys everything from the beginning? What if I had left the house that night instead of waiting until after breakfast?” She rubbed her forehead and could feel a headache coming.

Dean wrapped his arms around shoulders and pulled her into a hug, “Just stop, Wren. You can’t change the past. YOu can’t dwell on the what if’s. Trust me. It’s done. We just have to move on from here, okay?” He kissed the top of her head. “We’re family. We will get past this together.” Wren hugged Dean back and nodded her head. 

Sam poked his head out of the door and looked concerned, “Everything okay out here?” He closed the door and stood next to Cas. Wren pulled away from Dean and embraced Sam next. Sam laughed and squeezed her shoulders lightly, “I guess so.”

Dean smiled a little, “Yeah, we’re doing better today.” Dean reached into the pocket. “Hey, kiddo. This belongs to you.” Wren looked at Dean confused. Taking her hand, he placed her ring and the cord strung through onto her palm. 

She immediately recognized it and closed her hand around it, “You guys brought it with you?” she asked looking at both brothers.

Sam shrugged, “Well, yeah. Couldn’t exactly keep an eye on it if we left it behind in the Bunker.” Wren grinned from ear to ear. She hugged the brothers and angel thanking them over and over again.

“Okay, enough with the chick flick crap. Let’s get Mom and hit the road.” Dean announced and was undercut when Wren’s stomach rumbled again loudly. “Alright, little one. We’ll get you food too,” he chuckled.

Everyone packed up and headed down the road to a diner. Wren couldn’t help but notice how normal it felt. The conversation flowed just as before and there wasn’t any underlying tension. She looked around at the people who had become family and happiness filled her. Clasping the ring hanging around her, she made a promise to herself right there. The next time she saw Chuck that she would be sure to thank him. 

The meal was coming to end and Dean had ordered his requisite piece of pie. Mary took a sip of coffee and cleared her throat, “There is one thing that I think we still need to discuss before we can get back on the road. It seemed to be something significant earlier and I think now is a good time to get it out of the way.”

Sam leaned on the table and furrowed his brows, “What’s that, Mom?” Everyone at the table look at Mary expectantly.

She folded her hands on the table and looked at her children, “Who’s Adam?”


End file.
